02/24/2019 Myanmar (International Christian Concern) – Two Christian Kachin IDPs were badly injured when one stepped on a landmine in Kachin state, Myanmar on January 7.
When they left the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp to search for food in a forest, they triggered the landmine planted by the army and suffered severe lower-body injuries.
According to Barnabas Fund, one man was badly injured but did not lose any limbs. However, his friend’s injuries were so extensive that doctors had to amputate both of his legs. The man has two daughters, aged two-and-a-half years and seven months, and is reported to be in deep distress. They are in need of prayers.
From 2011 to 2018, landmines laid by the Burmese military (Tatmadaw) have injured 1,339 people including 19 children in the war-torn Kachin State, according to the Kachin Independence Army(KIA) spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu.
The fighting between the Tatmadaw and KIA has destroyed more than 400 villages and driven some 130,000 people from their homes to 13 refugee camps spread across several townships. The predominantly Christian Kachin IDPs continue to live under the threat of landmines despite a ceasefire unilaterally announced by the Tatmadaw last December.
