Myanmar has the highest number of casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) worldwide, according to a Myanmar-focused report released in December 2025 by Landmine Monitor.

Deaths from landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Myanmar have risen each year since the 2021 coup. In 2023, 1,003 people were killed by the explosives, a figure that surged to 2,029 in 2024. As a result, Myanmar surpassed Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine to record the highest number of landmine and UXO casualties worldwide for two consecutive years. According to the Landmine Monitor’s report, 86 percent of those killed in Myanmar were civilians.

Seventy percent of those killed by landmines and other explosive remnants of war are adult men, with the remaining victims comprising adult women and children. Shan State records the highest annual number of landmine and UXO casualties, followed by Sagaing Region, Magway Region, Rakhine State, and Bago Region.

The deadly hidden devices were used not only by the junta but also by armed resistance forces between mid-2024 and October 2025, Landmine Monitor added.

To reduce casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), education programs must be expanded to raise awareness among civilian communities about the dangers of these devices, and the junta and armed groups must be pressed to stop using them, Landmine Monitor emphasized at a press conference on February 26.

At the press conference, Landmine Monitor said it had urged several ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) to implement effective mine-risk mitigation measures.

“We have discussed this with Karen ethnic leaders. For example, we explored the possibility of designating a mine-free zone in Karen State, where people could travel safely without the risk of landmines. Ideally, there would be mine-free zones that are entirely free from conflict,” an official of Landmine Monitor told KIC.

The use of these deadly devices in Myanmar has increased since the coup, with landmines reportedly planted even near mobile phone towers, mining sites, and fuel pipelines, according to Landmine Monitor.

Explosions of landmines planted near junta camps and checkpoints, along with junta troops forcing civilians to walk ahead of them in landmine-infested areas as human shields, have also resulted in civilian casualties.

The report also said that between mid-2024 and August 2025, anti-personnel mines laid by armed groups caused casualties among both junta troops and civilians.

Landmine Monitor reports that over 9,000 people in Myanmar died from landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) between 1999 and 2024. The report also documented the junta’s use of cluster munitions since 2022.