Myanmar led world in landmine victims in 2023: monitor

BANGKOK — 

Landmines and unexploded munitions claimed much victims successful Myanmar than successful immoderate different state past year, a show said connected Wednesday, with implicit 1,000 radical killed oregon wounded successful the country.

Decades of sporadic struggle betwixt the subject and taste rebel groups person near the Southeast Asian state littered with deadly landmines and munitions.

But the military's ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi's authorities successful 2021 has turbocharged struggle successful the state and birthed dozens of newer "People's Defense Forces" present battling to topple the military.

Anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of warfare killed oregon wounded 1,003 radical successful Myanmar successful 2023, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said connected Wednesday.

There were 933 landmine casualties successful Syria, 651 successful Afghanistan and 580 successful Ukraine, the ICBL said successful its latest Landmine Monitor report.

Myanmar is not a signatory to the United Nations normal that prohibits the use, stockpiling oregon improvement of anti-personnel mines.

The ICBL said determination had been a "significant increase" of anti-personnel mines usage by the subject successful caller years, including astir infrastructure similar mobile telephone towers and vigor pipelines.

Those infrastructure are often targeted by its opponents.

Myanmar's subject has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and warfare crimes during decades of interior conflict.

ICBL said it had seen grounds of junta troops forcing civilians to locomotion successful beforehand of its units to "clear" mine-affected areas.