Myanmar overtakes Syria to become country with highest landmine casualties

Civilians, including children, bearing the brunt of the devastation, Landmine Monitor 2024 report notes

A soldier with an unexploded mine in Myanmar (Getty)

Myanmar has overtaken Syria as the country with the highest number of casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war, a report has found.

The Landmine Monitor 2024 report found that in 2023, Myanmar recorded 1,003 casualties, although it says the true number may be significantly higher due to under-reporting.

The extensive use of landmines surged following the 2021 military coup, with both the military junta and armed resistance groups deploying them, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said in the report.

Casualties occurred in every region except the fortified capital, Naypyidaw.

“This flagship report records a shocking number of civilians killed or injured by antipersonnel mines, including children,” Tamar Gabelnick, director of the ICBL said in a statement.

“Any use of antipersonnel mines by any actor under any circumstances is unacceptable and must be condemned. All countries that have not yet done so should join the Mine Ban Treaty to turn back this tide and end the suffering caused by these vile weapons.”

The Mine Ban Treaty, which came into effect on 1 March 1999, prohibits the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel mines. It also mandates victim assistance, mine clearance, and the destruction of stockpiles. To date, 164 countries have joined the treaty.

Civilians, including children in Myanmar, are frequently the victims, and reports indicate the military uses civilians as human shields in mine-affected areas and extorts payments from farmers whose livestock trigger mines.

Landmines have increasingly been placed in civilian areas, the report found, including urban zones controlled by the military, often disguised as everyday objects, further endangering non-combatants.

Last year, Syria recorded the second-highest number of casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war, with 933 victims. Afghanistan and Ukraine followed, each reporting more than 500 casualties in 2023.

Globally, civilians made up 84 per cent of casualties, with children accounting for more than a third of those affected.

“Civilians continued to bear the brunt of the harm caused by these weapons, with 84 per cent of recorded casualties being civilians, where the status was known. Children accounted for more than a third of all civilian casualties,” the statement from ICBL said.

The report states that “non-state armed groups used mostly improvised antipersonnel mines in 2023 and 2024 in Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Palestine (Gaza) and increasingly in the Sahel region of Africa”.

“Behind these disturbing casualty statistics are people trying to rebuild lives after the devastating impacts of mines,” Elea Boureux, project manager for the Landmine Monitor said.

“Far too many victims cannot access adequate medical care, rehabilitation services, or other support. During the upcoming Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, the international community should commit to providing appropriate, affordable, inclusive, and accessible services to victims,” she added.

At least 58 countries and regions remain affected by landmine contamination, the report says, but significant progress was made last year, it adds. The 33 states with mine clearance obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty cleared 281.5 sq km of land – an area larger than the UK – the largest amount since 2019.

Cambodia and Croatia led these efforts, together accounting for 75 per cent (over 209 sq km) of the total land cleared.