Two ethnic Chakma men injured in Maungdaw landmine blast

By Admin 07 Oct 2026

DMG Newsroom

7 October 2026, Maungdaw

Two ethnic Chakma men were injured after stepping on a landmine while foraging for bamboo in Thinbawhla Village, Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, according to local sources.

At around 10:00 a.m. on October 3, four local residents from Thinbawhla Village entered a forested area about 1.5 miles northeast of the village to harvest bamboo when the landmine detonated.

“Normally, local villagers earn their livelihoods in this forest area by foraging for wood, bamboo, and fish or working on nearby hillside farms,” Ko Ree Naung from Thinbawhla Village said. “Four men went out that day to cut bamboo. They stepped on the landmine while checking animal snares they had set up.”

The blast caused severe leg injuries to 36-year-old U Hla Maung, while U Aung Mya Kyaw, aged around 40, sustained eye injuries.

U Hla Maung is currently receiving emergency medical treatment at a hospital, while his family urgently needs financial assistance to cover his medical expenses.

“They are poor villagers who rely entirely on the surrounding forests and mountains for their daily survival,” another local resident said. “They desperately need financial assistance for medical treatment.”

Local residents said areas near Thinbawhla, Taungpyo, and Meetaik villages in northern Maungdaw, along the Bangladesh border, contain former military encampments, resulting in frequent landmine explosions.

Because ethnic Chakma communities in northern Maungdaw villages such as Thinbawhla, Taungpyo, and Meetaik rely heavily on forest foraging for their livelihoods, the lingering threat of landmines is severely disrupting their basic livelihoods.