RAKHINE STATE – The heavy artillery fired by the No. 12 Police Battalion of the junta council in Sittwe on November 27 morning reportedly landed in Byaingphyu Village which was only three miles away.
A witness reported that the heavy artillery landed in the fields between Byaingphyu Village and Thantawli Village, home to Muslims.
“The heavy artillery fired by No. 12 (Police Battalion) at past 9 a.m. this morning (November 27) landed between our Byaingphyu Village and Thantawli Village. It didn’t explode,” said the witness.
No. 12 Police Battalion in Sittwe is also an artillery battalion where both junta soldiers and police are deployed and is also responsible for the continuous shelling of Pauktaw Town.
Another resident shared, “No. 12 Police Battalion has been shelling Pauktaw Town nonstop since November 13. The shelling still hasn’t stopped. The shelling this morning was also probably aimed towards Pauktaw but maybe it deviated in its path and landed near our village. The thing is they have no reason to shell our village.”
Locals have been warning each other not to touch said unexploded shell and have also stopped passing that area.
However, as the junta council still hasn’t made any attempt to clear that shell, locals are said to be concerned.
A Byaingphyu resident commented, “There is no battle in Sittwe but there are ongoing fights in Pauktaw. They (junta forces) must have aimed to fire there and missed the target. It landed in Byaingphyu Village near Sittwe. It hasn’t exploded yet and they haven’t come clear it yet.”