English
ကညီကျိာ်
မြန်မာ
Print:This Photo Set provides photographic evidence of landmine casualties in Southeast Burma during the period from March 2021 to January 2024. Since February 2021, KHRG has received reports containing evidence of 69 landmine incidents in Southeast Burma affecting villagers, which resulted in at least 21 deaths and 68 people injured, including children. This Photo Set includes 27 photographs, from 17 of those incidents, showing injuries sustained by 15 villagers, including two children, and evidence on the death of six villagers, including one child. Of those 14 injured villagers, 8 had their legs amputated because of the severity of their injuries. The landmine explosions occurred in civilian areas, often in and around villages. The use of landmines by armed actors in civilian areas seriously impacts villagers’ security and livelihoods, as they increasingly fear the increasing threat of landmine contamination, affecting their security, freedom of movement and access to farmlands.
Photo Set | Landmine incidents in all seven districts of locally-defined Karen State (March 2021 to January 2024)
Since the 2021 coup[1], the use of landmines has proliferated in Southeast Burma amid the ongoing armed conflict. Landmines are used by not only the State Administration Council (SAC)[2], but all armed actors in Southeast Burma, to both protect territory and attack opponents. A lack of mine clearance operations has left severe contamination across Southeast Burma, of both new and old landmines. In addition, the SAC has been increasingly targeting civilians directly with these indiscriminate weapons.[3] Such use of landmines, and the overall contamination throughout the region, is causing civilian deaths and injuries and affecting the lives and livelihoods of villagers.
The following 27 photos were taken by community members in all seven districts of locally-defined Karen State[4], who have been trained by KHRG to monitor local human rights conditions in their areas, as well as other local villagers who provided their photos to KHRG. The districts are Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton), Taw Oo (Toungoo), Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin), Mergui-Tavoy, Mu Traw (Hpapun), Dooplaya and Hpa-an.[5] The photographic evidence is presented below, censored where necessary for security purposes.
Further background reading on the situation of landmines, and overall human rights abuses, in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- KHRG, Danger Beneath Our Feet: Landmine contamination in Southeast Burma and its impacts on villagers since the 2021 coup, December 2023
- KHRG, Undeniable: War crimes, crimes against humanity and 30 years of villagers’ testimonies in rural Southeast Burma, December 2022.
- KHRG, Denied and Deprived: Local communities confronting the humanitarian crisis and protection challenges in Southeast Burma, June 2022.
Source:
Footnotes:
[1] On February 1st 2021, the Burma Army deposed the democratically elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), transferred power to Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s Armed Forces, and invalidated the NLD’s landslide victory in the November 2020 General Election.
[2] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma (Myanmar) and leads the Military Cabinet of Burma, the executive branch of the government.
[3] For more information on landmine incidents in Southeast Burma since the 2021 coup, see: KHRG: Danger Beneath Our Feet: Landmine contamination in Southeast Burma and its impacts on villagers since the 2021 coup, December 2023
[4] Karen State, located in Southeastern Burma, is primarily inhabited by ethnic Karen people. Most of the Karen population resides in the largely rural areas of Southeast Burma, living alongside other ethnic groups, including Bamar, Shan, Mon and Pa’Oh.
[5] KHRG operates in seven areas in Southeast Burma: Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton), Taw Oo (Toungoo), Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin), Mergui-Tavoy, Mu Traw (Hpapun) and Dooplaya and Hpa-an. When KHRG receives information from the field, it organises data according to these seven areas. These are commonly referred to as ‘districts’ and are used by the Karen National Union (KNU), as well as many local Karen organisations, both those affiliated and unaffiliated with the KNU. KHRG’s use of the district designations in reference to our research areas does not imply political affiliation; rather, it is rooted in the fact that many rural communities commonly use these designations. For clarity, the Burmese terms for these districts are provided in brackets but do not correspond with the Burma (Myanmar) government administrative divisions.
