An unexploded artillery shell detonated in Thlangpanga Village, Matupi Township, Chin State, injuring four children, two of them seriously, according to locals.

On the afternoon of August 18, a 60 mm artillery shell, an ordnance remnant, exploded on the outskirts of the village while children were playing with it.

“The children were playing nearby, and it seemed they had come into contact with the unexploded shell. The blast was so powerful that four of them were injured, including two who were seriously hurt,” a Thlangpanga villager said.

The injured children, aged between 5 and 12, included one who was directly hit by the blast, while three others nearby were also wounded.

The explosion site was formerly a camp of the Chinland Defence Force – Matupi (CDF-Matupi), a local resistance group. However, it remains unclear which organization that explosive remnant belonged to.

Thlangpanga Village, situated about 10 miles from Matupi Town along the Matupi–Mindat Highway, was raided and set ablaze by junta troops in early 2024.

The CDF-Matupi Brigade 1 was previously stationed in Thlangpanga Village, which came under bombardment by junta forces on June 5 and 6, 2024.