German Tourist Killed By Landmine in Northern Shan State
By NETWORK MEDIA GROUP (NMG)
Thursday, November 28, 2019
A man from Germany was killed by a landmine that exploded while he was driving a motorbike in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township on Tuesday.
Ko Myo, who works with a social volunteer outreach group in Hsipaw, told NMG that the incident occurred on a dirt road between Pannyaung and Kon Hauk villages. A woman from Argentina was also injured by the blast—she had reportedly been walking behind the motorbike when the landmine went off. Both she and the German man were tourists.
“We were asked to pick them up by the tour guide,” Ko Myo said. “We sent them to Hsipaw hospital.”
Locals have been frequently injured and often killed by landmine explosions in northern Shan State, which remains a war zone. In Hsipaw, the Burma Army and government-allied militias are active, as well as the Restoration Council of Shan State and members of the Northern Alliance of ethnic armed groups.
In April 2016, two German tourists and their guide were injured by a landmine explosion in Kyaukme Township, also in northern Shan State.
