Type of Incident

Landmine explosion  

Date of Incident(s)

October 20th 2022

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Maung Khee village tract[2], Kaw T’Ree (Kawkareik) Township, Dooplaya District

Victim Information

Name

B---

Age

46 years old

Sex

Male

Ethnicity

Karen and Burmese[3]

Family   

Single

Occupation

Day labourer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

A--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

SAC troops from unknown unit

Aung May K’Lar army camp

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

KHRG office staff conducted phone interviews with a local authority on October 26th 2022 and with the victim on November 3rd 2022.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The information was provided by a local authority who had knowledge of the tripwire incident and by the victim himself.

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 October 20th 2022, B---, a villager from A--- village, Maung Khee village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District, [accidentally] triggered a tripwire landmine that was assumed [by villagers] to have been set by the State Administration Council (SAC)[4] military unit [unit number unknown] based at the Aung May K’Lar military camp [due to its proximity with the camp]. This incident occurred when the victim went to make charcoal beside the military camp [as he was returning to his kiln with wood he had collected in the forest close to the camp]. B--- said, “I worked as a person who produced charcoal. The incident happened after I returned from collecting wood close to the SAC military camp. At first, I thought that there was a fight [fighting had broken out]. I didn’t realize that I had been hit by shrapnel from a tripwire [landmine]. I ran back to the village after I was hit. I sustained injuries on my left calf, behind my [left] ear, and on my back. There were several injuries on my back”. B--- was unaccompanied when he stepped on the tripwire.

After he returned injured to his village, his neighbours brought him by car to Waw Lay Hospital, located in Waw Lay Town, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. This hospital is run by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA)[5] [and located approximately 15 minutes away from Aung May K’Lar village by motorbike]. He [the victim] stayed at the hospital for four days. He didn’t have to pay for treatment. He just had to pay for his food. B--- mentioned, "During my treatment, some of my friends gave me some money for food and snacks."

In the past, there were no landmine incidents in the area [near A--- village] and no Mine Risk Awareness trainings have taken place in the village. A dog stepped on a landmine in the past, but this was the first time that a human triggered one in this area. This tripwire [landmine] was assumed to have been set by the SAC military unit based at the Aung May K’Lar military camp because of its proximity to the army camp and the fact that other armed groups never went there. The victim does not have any relatives, so his neighbours and other villagers took care of him and supported him. No organisations have financially supported him yet [as of December 2022]. The victim was discharged from the hospital and has recovered from his injuries.

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

The victim gave KHRG permission to document the information and publish it.