Myanmar: the number of civilian victims of anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance is growing

ROMA – The intensity of the conflict in Myanmar is increasing and the number of people, including many children, killed by anti-personnel mines and unexploded bombs scattered throughout the territory is increasing. Data released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) speak of 1052 confirmed victims in 2023, which is almost triple compared to the 390 in 2022. 20 percent of the deaths are children. “The use of landmines is not only reprehensible but also constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law,” explains Debora Comini, the Fund’s Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific. “All parties to the conflict must ensure the safety of civilians, especially children, and take immediate measures to stop the indiscriminate use of these weapons.”

The conflict. The entire territory of Myanmar, with the exception of the capital Naypyidaw, appears to be contaminated by anti-personnel mines. Dangerous for everyone, these weapons are even more so for children who are not always able to recognize them and therefore are not always aware of the risks they incur. The widespread deployment of these instruments of death across the country means that children are in danger virtually everywhere: near homes, schools, playgrounds, farmlands. Considering that the conflict in Myanmar has already displaced 2.8 million people living in official and makeshift camps and left more than 18 million people in desperate need of humanitarian aid to survive, the damage that landmines can cause becomes even more serious .

Regional data. The Sagaing region recorded the highest number of deaths, accounting for 35 percent of the total. The Shan and Bago regions follow with 12 and 9 percent of the total respectively. The remaining areas, which include Ayeyarwady, Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Mon, Rakhine, Tanintharyi and Yangon, collectively account for the remaining 43 percent of the victims. In the first quarter of 2024, the level of fighting worsened mainly in Rakhine, Kachin, Sagaing and the southeast, writes the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The situation in the country has worsened since the February 2021 coup led by General Min Aung Hlaing, which brought the armed forces to power. Many members of the League for Democracy, the winning party of the 2020 elections, were arrested, including Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1991. Despite the repression of the military junta, the population coalesced into a armed resistance which saw local ethnic armies and the People’s Defense Force, the armed forces of the so-called Government of National Unity, born secretly after the coup, come together.

The humanitarian crisis. As fighting intensifies, the risk of forced recruitment by all parties to the conflict represents a major protection concern, particularly for the Rohingya, who are the most vulnerable portion of the population. The whole country is grappling with a surge in food prices and a lack of essential services, including banking, so people are finding it difficult even to have cash to buy food. The nutritional situation is one of the crucial problems. Malnutrition among children and pregnant women is increasingly widespread, but the possibility of providing relief and distributing aid is affected by the general insecurity and restrictions on movement imposed by the junta in many areas of the country. Phone and Internet connections have been down almost everywhere since January, and this blackout limits people’s ability to share safety information and ask for help. Of course, the blockade also hinders the work of NGOs, who cannot coordinate or monitor the crisis directly on the ground.