A man was injured when he stepped on a landmine in Yumar Village, on the Hpakant to Seikmu Road in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, on 28 June 2025.
He accidentally stepped on the landmine at about 10:00 am as he was stopping to drink at a public water pot in Yumar Village, according to residents of Yumar Village, which is in Lone Khin Village Tract.
Junta troops have been stationed at a jade mining compound near the site of the landmine explosion, but it remains unclear whether they were responsible for planting the device or if it was laid by another group.
A resident of Yumar Village said: “There’s a jade mining compound in Yumar Village owned by Ever Winner Company. Since the clashes in Hsengtaung Village, junta troops have been stationed there. We don’t know for sure whether the landmine was planted by the soldiers or the resistance forces. The man stepped on it while going to drink water from a pot. His leg’s in pretty bad shape, and we heard he’ll need to have it amputated.”
Both junta forces and resistance groups are active in Hpakant Township and there is frequent fighting between them in the township. The whole township is contaminated with landmines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO).
The day after the man was injured by the landmine, 29 June, a battery-powered improvised explosive device was discovered in Mawsisar Village, also in Hpakant Township’s Lone Khin Village Tract, according to a resident of Mawsisar.
He said to KNG: “As soon as we saw it, we told the village elders. They contacted the resistance forces, and they came and removed it. Honestly, I think Hpakant Township still has fewer landmine casualties compared to some other areas.”
Recently, on 31 May in Mawsisar Village junta troops burned down the staff dormitory at the 111 Jade Mining company compound and set fire to and destroyed two backhoes removed from mining sites near Mawsisar Village, along with other heavy machinery and vehicles.
UXO and landmines are often found in areas of Myanmar where there has been fighting and people should never approach or touch them because they can cause serious injuries including the loss of limbs and even death.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 1,028 people across Myanmar were injured or killed by UXO in 2024. Of those, 29 per cent were children.
The military situation remains tense in Hpakant Township, which is under the mixed control of the junta and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and defence forces. The junta still controls Hpakant Twon and since 29 May 2025, a column of about 200 junta soldiers has been operating in Hpakant Township and moving into and occupying villages such as Mawsisar whilst destroying equipment and buildings belonging to jade mining companies.
Currently, the junta is arbitrarily firing artillery into Hpakant Township on a near daily basis raising concerns amongst the township’s residents that there will soon be heavy fighting between the junta and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Hpakant Township.
