Type of Incident

Landmine explosion

Date of Incident(s)

May 28th 2022

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

H--- place located in R--- village, Ler Muh Plaw village tract[2], Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] W---

Age

58 years old

Sex

Male

Ethnicity

Karen

Family   

Married

Occupation

Hill farmer

Religion

Animist

Position

Villager  

Village

R--- village, Ler Muh Plaw village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw District

Perpetrator Information

Name(s)           

Rank

Company/Battalion/Division

Based at

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

SAC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #37  

Htaw Muh Pleh Meh army camp located in Ler Muh Plaw village

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

On September 7th 2022, a KHRG researcher conducted an interview with the victim, Saw W---.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The victim provided the information on the incident.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed.

On May 28th 2022 at 6:00 am, Saw W---, a 58-year-old villager from R---village, Ler Muh Plaw village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw District, stepped on a landmine at H--- place located in R--- village, Ler Muh Plaw village tract, Lu Thaw Township. On that morning, Saw W--- was heading to his hill farmlands on a motorcycle road commonly used by villagers to work on their farmlands. The landmine was planted by State Administration Council (SAC)[4] soldiers, as villagers previously saw SAC soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #37 plant landmines when they were travelling on that road.  

Back in 2011, when the victim was 47 years of age, he stepped on a landmine and severely injured his left leg. Since then, he was relying on his prosthetic leg to support him walking. On May 28th 2022, when he stepped on a landmine again, he sustained injuries on [both] legs and arms. His prosthetic leg was also damaged. He called for help on his walkie talkie and R--- villagers came to help him. On May 29th 2022, Saw W--- was sent to O--- clinic [located in Ler Muh Plaw village tract] by [local] villagers for his treatment and recovery. The victim [spent about six months in the clinic but] has not fully recovered yet. [In December 2022] he was displaced along with other villagers in the forest [due to other shelling, air strike and fighting incidents in the area].  

After the incident, it was really difficult for him to earn a livelihood because he was not able to work as he had been able to before. However, he said he was going to live his life to the best in difficulty [make the most out of his challenging circumstances]. The victim cannot work to secure his livelihood anymore due to his injuries and displacement caused by the shelling and air strikes in his area. Now that he has lost [one of] his legs and [sustained slight injuries to his right leg and his] arms, he cannot work as other villagers do. It became difficult for him to secure his future. As the victim of the incident expressed, he needs encouragement and support in order survive. He also needs support to secure basic supplies such as salt, glutamate powder [and other basic necessities] because he struggles to find a job to earn an income to support his family. [He received some financial support from his family and relatives following the incident, but it has been insufficient].

Villagers living in R--- village have never attended Mine Risk Awareness Training. It is hard for the villagers to determine the risk of landmine contamination in their village’s area. As of [February 2023], no organisation has provided Saw W--- with a new prosthetic leg [as his previous prosthetic leg was damaged in the May 2022 landmine explosion]. He remains in need of financial support to cover his travel and medical expenses to treat his injuries as well as for his family’s livelihood. He expressed the desire for the planting of landmines to decrease in the area where he resides.

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The victim of the landmine incident gave KHRG permission to use the provided information.