Junta's navy conducts shelling near Korea port bazaar in Sittwe

The military junta's navy personnel fired an artillery shell near Korea port bazaar in  Myoma market of  Sittwe, the capital city of Rakhine State, on Saturday, said the vendors.

“At around 9 am on 2 March, a navy warship halted near Thel Khone village under Pauktaw township, the opposite side of Sittwe, and launched an artillery shell,” said a vendor.

Later the warship fired the shell near the bazaar. An artillery shell even fell into the water. At that time,  hundreds of local residents were in the market area and they tried to flee,  said a person on his way to escape.

 "We were preparing to depart from the Korean port to the other side. Suddenly, the artillery shell was fired. There was a large crowd as if the people gathered as they did in the San Taw Shin pagoda festival. It seems the navy personnel fired the shell as a warning to deter them from arriving at the other side," he added.

The artillery shell landed in a river near the port bazaar. The Sittwe residents expressed concern that if the shell had landed among the crowd, it would have killed and injured a number of people.

Currently, the warship is stopped near Than Khone island under  Pauktaw township, while a barge belonging to the junta is also stationed in Kaladan river.

The junta's battalions also launched artillery shells near Sittwe point.

On 29 February, an artillery shell fired by the junta soldiers exploded in Korea port bazaar killing 13 civilians and injuring 31 others.