According to the annual report released by the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor on Wednesday, Myanmar has emerged as the country with the highest number of landmine casualties in 2023, contributing to a global increase in victim numbers.
Last year, landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) resulted in at least 5,757 deaths or injuries across 53 countries and two additional territories, with civilians accounting for 84% of the total casualties. This figure represents a 20% increase from the previous year’s tally of at least 4,710 victims in 2022, which included 1,983 fatalities and 3,663 injuries. The status of 111 additional victims remains “unknown.”
Myanmar has not signed the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition and Elimination of Anti-Personnel Mines, which includes 164 states and territories as signatories. The Burmese landscape is littered with explosive devices, a legacy of decades of conflict between the military and various ethnic rebel groups, with the intensity of violence fluctuating over time.
The report highlighted a “significant increase” in the use of anti-personnel mines by the military, particularly in areas near mobile phone towers and pipelines, which are often targeted by opposing forces.
The Landmine Monitor operates as the research body of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a coalition of non-governmental organizations. Anti-personnel mines are explosive devices that continue to kill and injure individuals long after conflicts have concluded. Buried or concealed underground, they detonate when someone approaches or comes into contact with them.
