In Loikaw, the capital of Karenni (Kayah) State, landmines have caused 10 casualties, including 3 fatalities, over the past three months.
After fighting between the Karenni resistance forces and the junta subsided, Loikaw residents returned home from the places where they had been displaced.
However, because no demining has been carried out in Loikaw City, locals suffered landmine casualties. Between early September and late November, 3 residents were killed and 7 others were injured by landmines in Loikaw, with most incidents occurring in Dawkhu and Naungyar wards.
An official from the Shwe Nyaungbin community-based rescue team in Loikaw said the injured included people who had lost limbs or eyes.
“If possible, we want locals to return home only after it’s truly safe. The situation right now is very dangerous. In just three months, 10 people have been hit by landmines, 3 have died, and others have lost limbs. We were the ones who assisted the victims in all these cases,” he told Shan Herald.
Most of the landmine victims were manual laborers with no steady income, relying on occasional day-to-day work. They encountered the landmines while working on farms and tamarind plantations, he added.
A woman from Loikaw said returning residents are avoiding roads that lead to forested areas on the outskirts of town, as well as bushland, because of fears of landmine risks.
“The danger from landmines is terrifying. We can die or lose our limbs and be disabled for the rest of our lives. That’s why we’re so afraid. There are often landmines hidden in thick bushes, so we avoid those places. Even when we walk, we try to stay in the middle of the road as much as possible. Landmines can be anywhere, so we have to be extremely careful,” she said.
In July, junta troops in Loikaw allowed residents who wished to return home. They offered to clear landmines but charged each household 100,000 MMK. However, they only searched for and removed explosives in the yards of houses, leaving roads and other areas uncleared.
In a recent incident on December 3, two men in Loikaw’s Pankan Ward were injured by a landmine while returning from terrace farms and are currently receiving medical treatment.
In the last week of October, a 12-year-old child was injured by a landmine in Mainglone Ward, Loikaw City, and the junta pressured locals to conceal the incident.
