An ethnic Chin girl died after stepping on a landmine in Rakhine State’s Ann Township on Monday, according to local sources.
Wathong, age 17, was looking for bamboo shoots in the jungle near Kazukai village when the mine exploded.
According to Mai Nang Wai, who works with the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee for Chin IDPs (RRCCI), Wathong lost her legs in the blast and died en route to the hospital.
“She was a mentally disabled person. She was not killed on the spot. She died on the way to the hospital as local CSOs [civil society organizations]tried to send her there,” Mai Nang Wai told Khonumthung News.
It is unknown which armed organization planted the landmine that killed Wathong, but three civilians have been killed or injured by landmines in Ann Township in recent days. The area has also seen clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army.
Maung Tin, age 60, and Super Chay, age 28, were killed after stepping on landmines in Geik Chaung village, also in Kazukai village tract, on July 29 and 30. Another villager in the area was also injured in a landmine explosion.
