Myanmar’s military junta has come under fire from global rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) for a surge in use of banned antipersonnel landmines that indiscriminately kill and injure people across the country.
Myanmar topped the global list of casualties from landmines last year, HRW said in a report released on Nov. 21.
The country had a total of 1,003 documented civilian deaths and injuries from landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2023, almost three times the previous year, the HRW report said.
The casualties resulted as fighting between the junta military and alliances of opposition and ethnic armed groups spiked nationwide last year, it said.
Landmine casualties and contamination have been documented for the first time in all 14 Myanmar states and regions, affecting about 60 percent of the country’s townships, it added.