State Dept warns Pokémon Go players in SE Asia: Watch out for landmines

The State Department has a message for fans of Pokémon Go in Southeast Asia: Watch where you step.

The department’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau this week made a public appeal about land mines to Pokémon Go fans in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which remain pockmarked with the deadly bombs.

“Playing #PokemonGo in #Cambodia #Laos #Vietnam?” the department tweeted on Monday. “Beware of #landmines or anything that looks like an old bomb!”

The tweet injected a somber note into the mobile game, which became enormously popular this summer.

Land mines planted decades ago kill and maim hundreds of people across Southeast Asia every year. Roughly one-fifth of Vietnam is estimated to contain the mines or other unexploded ordnance, such as cluster bombs.