TANINTHARYI DIVISION- It is reported that a secret order, saying that a minefield was planted around the infantry battalion (561) based in Nyaungpin Kwin Village in Tanintharyi Township, has been circulated.
“Although the order is not confirmed to be issued by the junta council, the news has been spreading among the communities close to the junta council since yesterday (November 4),” said a source close to the junta thugs.
The official letter, which was dated November 4, stated that 300 meters from the fence of the military base was designated as a restricted area and landmines and bobby traps were planted there due to the security requirements.
The office letter was addressed to the Taninthari Township Administrator’s Office to inform the close villagers not to pass the restricted area or prevent cattle from going near.
A local woman stated “According to the official letter, they only want to warn the people close to them but not the public. If one is considered for public safety, they should have issued a public statement. I have no idea if they wanted the public to know this information or not.”
The Infantry Battalion (561) is next to the Nyaungpin Kwin Fire Department and the village school. There are also gardens and plantations near the army base and is a crowded space where locals frequently pass by. Until now, no public warning was made to the locals.
A person close to the junta council stated “There were previously planted minefields. More traps and mines would be planted along the possible routes that the revolutionary forces would come from. Since they have less manpower they would use minefields as protection, he expressed his opinion.”
He went on to say that there are also trespassing mines in orchards/plantations around the battalion without informing the owners.
In March of 2023, a 50-year-old woman, the mother-in-law of a military council member, picking cashew nuts on a farm near the Batallion(561), reportedly stepped on a landmine and injured her leg.