The pain from their injuries hasn’t gone away. Meanwhile, they face challenges in earning a livelihood.
Sofayatullah from Kung Taung village in Buthidaung township in Myanmar’s Rakhine State had earned a reputation for ferrying the maximum number of boat passengers every day. He also sold firewood occasionally for extra income. All that changed on December 19, 2023, when he placed a pile of firewood at a spot near his village where a landmine planted by the Myanmar military’s Infantry Battalion 551 exploded. “I remember hearing a deafening sound before falling unconscious. Then I realized that my left ankle was severed,” he recalled. Sofayatullah was taken to Buthidaung hospital by his father and other residents of the village, where another portion of his leg below the knee was amputated due to splinters. He continues to work as a boatman but no longer sells firewood.
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When Win Khin regained consciousness at a hospital in Sittwe she thought she was dead. “I could not see anything. Then I understood that I was blind,” she recalled. Win Khin, a community leader from the village of Lay Hla at Paletwa in Myanmar’s Chin State, is a mother of two children. On January 30, 2024, when she had gone to gather firewood in the forest, she stepped on a landmine. She was unconscious, her right leg already severed, when her relatives took her on a long journey by road and river to the Sittwe hospital. There she underwent a series of operations for the removal of splinters from her nose, face, neck, and hips. She cannot walk now and moves in a wheelchair.
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Maung Aung Hlaing was living with his wife and three children at an IDP camp in Buthidaung’s Shwebo village in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. On August 3, 2024, while returning home with seven other people after gathering vegetables on a hill, he stepped on a landmine. The blast immediately severed his left leg. His friends carried him to Buthidaung hospital, where splinters were removed from his chest, stomach, and right leg. He is currently employed as a daily wage worker to chop vegetables at a restaurant near the IDP camp where he stays.
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Mohammad Taker is a resident of Kung Taung village in Buthidaung township of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, who earned his livelihood as a supplier at construction sites. On February 9, 2024, three months before the township witnessed an intense battle between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, Mohammad Taker was returning home after gathering bamboo when his machete touched a spot on the ground. A landmine went off, and the blast severed his left ankle immediately. His parents admitted him to Buthidaung hospital, where another chunk of his left leg was amputated below the knee due to splinters. “I have opened a small shop to earn a livelihood as I can no longer supply items to construction sites,” Taker said. His artificial leg was procured at a “high cost” and with great difficulty six months ago.
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Teenagers Maung Tun Naing (left) and Maung Tun Sein are friends from Thi Ho Aye village in Buthidaung township of Myanmar’s Rakhine State. On April 27, 2025, they went deep into the hills to gather bamboo shoots when disaster struck. On their way home, they placed a basket filled with bamboo shoots on the ground. That triggered a blast. While Maung Tun Sein’s right ankle was severed on the spot, Maung Tun Naing’s right leg was bleeding profusely; it was amputated the following day at Buthidaung hospital. “Our lives have been shattered,” Maung Tun Naing said, adding that they are “confused” about their “future course of action.” Another person in the group sustained injuries from splinters in both hands.
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“I cannot sleep at night and my health has deteriorated,” Jaw Lar said. He writhes in pain, but he cannot afford to get himself treated in a hospital. His right ankle was left dangling from his leg after he stepped on a landmine about 4 km from his residence at Maungdaw town in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on October 18, 2025. He was carried to Maungdaw hospital by some people who saw him lying in a paddy field. At the hospital, his right leg was amputated and splinters were removed from his hip and stomach. He can no longer earn his livelihood as a daily wager and is currently unemployed. He stays with his parents and siblings.
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Oo Htun Hlaing hails from Naw Rone Taung village in Maungdaw township. A former education officer under the military regime, he began ferrying passengers in a vehicle for a livelihood after the Arakan Army occupied the township. On November 27, 2024, he had gone to the jungle near his village to gather firewood when he stepped on a landmine. He regained consciousness 12 hours later in Maungdaw hospital. “I realized that my legs and three fingers on my right hand were gone,” Oo Htun Hlaing recalled. He is unemployed but exploring all options to find a job. He stays with his parents, wife, and son.
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Nabi Hasan is a resident of Nayapara village in Buthidaung township of Myanmar’s Rakhine State. He stepped on a landmine planted by the Myanmar military outside his village on December 2, 2019, when the Arakan Army had stepped up operations to take over the township. He was unconscious for two days in Buthidaung hospital, where his parents admitted him. When he regained consciousness, he had lost his left eye, and his left leg had been amputated and splinters removed from his face, hands and left leg. “I have difficulty in walking, and my vision gets blurred at night,” he said. He lives with his parents and five siblings.
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U Than used to sell firewood at San Koo Htaung village in Buthidaung township of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which was burned down in 2018 by the Myanmar military as its residents were suspected of being sympathizers of the Arakan Army. On November 19, 2024, U Than stepped on a landmine while herding cattle near the village. His severely injured left leg was amputated in Buthidaung hospital the next day. “My activities have been severely curtailed. But I try to accomplish as many household chores as possible every day,” U Than said. He has opened a shop at his residence to sell vegetables.
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Mohammad Rizuan is a resident of Maungdaw city in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. On January 10, 2024, he accompanied a group of friends to gather firewood in a nearby jungle when he stepped on a landmine. His left leg was immediately severed. His friend, who was severely injured in the same incident, died in the hospital. Mohammad Rizuan continues to earn a livelihood by repairing generators and electrical equipment, although he is unable to work for more than 4 hours every day. “My body aches occasionally and that has reduced my capacity for work,” he said.
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San Wong May is a resident of Mombra town in Rakhine State. On March 19, 2024, while gathering vegetables and firewood in Kyin Tung Hill, she stepped on a landmine. The hill was occupied by the Myanmar military for many years and was vacated a week before the Arakan Army conquered the town early in March that year. San Wong May’s left ankle, which was bleeding profusely after the blast, was amputated a day later in Mombra hospital. Another operation was done to remove splinters from her right shoulder and stomach. “I suffered from acute depression for over a year and my activities have been severely curtailed after the incident,” said San Wong May, who lives with her husband, two children, and mother-in-law.
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An affluent farmer with 7 acres of land in Kyauk Tan Chay, Sittwe Township, Maung Kyaw Than decided to relocate from his village due to atrocities committed by the Myanmar military. He planned to join his wife, son and other residents of the village at an IDP camp in Ponnagyun township. But fate had other plans for him. While escaping the village, he stepped on a landmine near the bank of a stream. His left leg was almost severed and his chest was hit by multiple splinters. Two fishermen carried him to Sittwe hospital, where his left leg was amputated and splinters removed. It was only three months later that he embarked on the journey again to join his family at an IDP camp in Ponnagyun township. He is occasionally employed in a rice mill near the IDP camp. “I recovered very fast, but there are not very many jobs for me in and around the IDP camp. It is now a struggle to survive every day,” he explained.
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Noor Hobi is a resident of Kung Taung village in Buthidaung township. He earned his livelihood from the scrap metal business and by selling teakwood. On May 10, 2024, amid the war between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, he and two others ventured into a forest where he stepped on a landmine. His left ankle was cleaved immediately. Another part of his left leg that was hit by splinters was amputated. He does not sell teakwood anymore. “I can no longer work very hard. There are often periods of acute scarcity in my house,” said Noor Hobi, who lives with his wife and three children.
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Maung Phyu Daung had gone to gather firewood when he came tumbling down a small hill on April 27, 2024, after an ear-splitting explosion. The Myanmar military had an outpost on top of the hill, which they had vacated a month earlier. When Maung Phyu Daung opened his eyes, he found his left ankle was missing. His right leg was bleeding severely. Subsequently, a portion of his left leg was amputated and splinters were removed from his hands and right leg. Previously a daily wager, who lived with his wife and parents on the outskirts of Mombra town in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Maung Phyu Daung is currently unemployed and exploring options to earn a livelihood. Another person from his village died on the same hill a month later under the same circumstances. “The military had very cordial ties with us. We never imagined they would plant landmines,” Maung Phyu Daung said. The area has now become a no-go zone for local residents.
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Kyaw Kyaw Than often wakes up at night writhing in pain as some splinters from a landmine blast are still embedded in his body. He lacks the resources to undergo treatment in a hospital. His encounter with a landmine happened on February 20, 2024, when he was herding cattle at a spot about half a mile from his village of Tha Pray Taung in Buthidaung township of Myanmar’s Rakhine State. His right leg was amputated in the hospital, where he remained for treatment for over a month. He sold off the cattle and other items to purchase an artificial leg from India. “I am unable to stand for more than five minutes. I am hoping to get treated at the earliest,” said Kyaw Kyaw Than. He now stays at a monastery near Buthidaung town.
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More people are being killed or maimed by antipersonnel landmines in Myanmar than in any other country in the world. There were as many as 2,029 casualties in the country in 2025, almost double the number reported the previous year.
Myanmar’s military has been using antipersonnel landmines for several decades. A new trend since the military coup of February 2021 is that such mines are being used by non-state armed groups of the resistance as well, Landmine Monitor has noted.
The impact of antipersonnel landmines and unexploded ordnance has been particularly severe on Myanmar’s children. According to UNICEF, over 20 percent of the 1,052 verified civilian casualties from such incidents in 2023 were children. This was a significant rise from 2022, when just 390 incidents were recorded.
Between January 29 and March 4, The Diplomat interviewed 16 survivors of landmines in Myanmar’s Chin State and Rakhine State, who shared the circumstances under which they stepped on antipersonnel landmines, how they survived and how their injuries have changed their lives forever.
The landmines that claimed lives or inflicted injuries were usually planted by the Myanmar military around their bases and outposts to deter advancing resistance groups. But the regime troops also mined jungles, paddy fields, and villages as they withdrew from areas to avoid being captured or killed.
In 2025, Rakhine State reported the second-highest number of landmine casualties (117) among all states and regions in Myanmar.
