Four children are dead and one was seriously injured after one of the youngsters accidentally stepped on a concealed landmine in Paletwa Township in southern Chin State.
The accident happened in a field near a river outside of Hka Wel, where the children used to play, said the secretary of Interim Khumi Affairs Consultative Council. He said the four children were instantly killed by the blast at 11 am on May 9.
The man said that regime troops used to control the area but now the Arakan Army (AA) has taken over. “The landmine incident happened just outside of a military camp. I don’t know who’s responsible for the landmine, the Burma army or AA.”
Previously, the ethnic armed group fighting the Burma army in southern Chin and Arakan State warned locals of landmines in the area and prevented them from travelling in the area close to India’s Mizoram State. Troops under the regime withdrew from Hka Wel with over 150 houses in March 2024.
The children killed are Maung Aung Tun (8), Maung Lin Myat (8), Maung Aung Lin Tun (8), and Maung Aung Lin Soe (11).
The deceased were cremated the same evening the accident happened. Maung Aung Soe Lin , the younger brother of Maung Aung Lin Soe , is in critical condition and hasn’t been sent to a hospital at the time of publication.