Landmine Injures Farmers In Nawngkio Township
By Network Media Group
Sunday, May 7, 2023
Several farmers were seriously injured after accidentally stepping on a concealed landmine on the way to their sugarcane farm in Nawngkio Township, northern Shan State.
U Su and U Pa Sein are being treated at Nawngkio hospital for injuries to their hands, legs, chest and face, while U Kyar Tun, who suffered minor injuries in the blast at 1.30pm on 29 April, has already been sent home. All are from Hokhe in Kon Gyi village tract.
A Hokhe woman told NMG on condition of anonymity that eight local men were on their way to the sugarcane farm, but only three men were injured by the landmine. Since the accident, she said all of the villagers are afraid to travel to their farms and staying in their homes.
According to local reports, the Mandalay People’s Defence Force and the Burma army engaged in fierce fighting between 5 and 22 April in the area where the explosion occurred near Hokhe, but it is unclear which armed group planted the landmine that injured the three men. More than 4,000 people displaced by the fighting were already returning to their villages when the accident occurred.
On 1 May, another person was injured after detonating a hidden landmine while working on their rotating farm near Hpoung Lek in Nam Tung village-tract on the Lashio – Hsenwi national road.
