A 36-year-old man sustained injuries to his legs and hands after a landmine exploded near him in the jungle outside of Maw Harn village in northern Shan State’s Kutkai Township on Wednesday. 

Hkawng Jong was collecting mushrooms in the forest when the explosive went off, a relative, Mary Hkawng, told SHAN. 

“He stepped on a landmine while he was searching for mushrooms. He has serious injuries to his legs—some shrapnel has been taken out. He got minor injuries to his hands,” she said, adding that Hkawng Jong has been receiving medical treatment at Kutkai public hospital.

Forces from the Burma Army and the Northern Alliance of ethnic armed groups clashed near Maw Harn village in August. Now villagers are reluctant to gather edible plants in around the community or venture into the forest, because of a fear of explosives, Mary Hkawng explained. 

“There were no landmines around Maw Harn [before the fighting]. We use to search for vegetables in the jungle. Now we are afraid to go,” she told SHAN.  

Tin Win, who works for the Garuna Social Volunteer Team that transported Hkawng Jong to the hospital after the landmine explosion, said the accidents are becoming more common. 

“Local people frequently step on landmines around Kutkai after battles,” Tin Win said. A similar incident occurred in Kutkai’s Maw Heik village in August, he explained. 

The Burma Army and three members of the Northern Alliance—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army—have engaged in intensified fighting in northern Shan State since mid-August.