The number of civilian casualties, including children, killed or maimed by landmines and explosives in Myanmar more than doubled to 1,052 last year as conflict intensified, UNICEF said on Wednesday.

UNICEF said casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war increased by 270% in 2023, including 188 deaths and 864 injuries, compared with 390 casualties in 2022. Last year, children accounted for more than 20% of all landmine victims.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government in a 2021 coup, ending tentative steps toward democracy. The conflict has made Myanmar one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world.

Over the past few years, armed civilian resistance groups have joined forces with long-standing ethnic armed groups to fight the military. The military government’s leadership is facing unprecedented pressure after the rebel group’s all-out offensive that began in October failed on the battlefield.

UNICEF says landmines and other explosive ordnance are being used indiscriminately by all parties in the escalating conflict.

A spokesman for the junta did not respond to a call from Reuters seeking comment.

“The use of landmines is not only reprehensible under international humanitarian law, it is also illegal,” said Deborah Komini, UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific.

According to UNICEF, mine-related casualties in the agricultural heartland of Sagaing accounted for more than 35% of all casualties in 2023.