Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
A Rohingya refugee named Mohammad Yunus (26) sustained severe injuries to his leg following a landmine explosion near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, in an incident that occurred on Wednesday evening in Tumburu village, Naikhongchhari area, Bandarban district, Bangladesh.
Several Rohingya refugees from the Kutupalong camp told Arakan News Agency that Yunus, a resident of Block 2W inside the camp, was transporting food supplies at the time of the explosion. It is believed that the supplies were intended for the Arakan Army, the separatist group that controls large parts of Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
Following the blast, local villagers rushed Yunus to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital inside Kutupalong camp, where doctors confirmed the need for an urgent leg amputation due to the severity of his injuries.
A fellow refugee said the injured man is a father of three children under the age of seven, with a fourth child on the way. Yunus had previously worked as a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) volunteer with Islamic Relief, but lost his job in April after the suspension of funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Since then, he has been unemployed, relying on daily labor outside the camp,” the refugee added, noting that the Arakan Army had recently hired him to transport food rations into their controlled areas inside Arakan State.
Security risks continue to escalate along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border due to the widespread presence of landmines planted as a result of ongoing armed conflict. Just days ago, a similar incident occurred when a Bangladeshi youth lost his leg in a landmine explosion in the Submarra border area.
