A staffmember informed Narinjara News that the families residing in a housing complexwere relocated as the military junta decided to establish an artillery basewithin the premises of the State immigration office at Pyi Taw Thar ward of Sittwe in Rakhine State.

"Yesterdaybetween 3 and 4 pm, two military vehicles equipped with full weaponry enteredthe office premises. I heard that they are planning to establish an artillerybase there. The staff families were forced to leave," he added.

A Sittweresident revealed that the official staff residing in the immigration officeand land records office complex started relocating to the downtown area on 14March by 3 pm.

"Thejunta didn't provide the affected families any accommodation. Some staffmembers have gone to relatives' houses, but the rest are facingdifficulties," he stated.

The juntaforces are undertaking military preparations at key locations of Sittwe todefend any potential offensive by the Arakan Army (AA) members in Sittwetownship.

Even thedepartmental staff, who are assigned to work in rural areas, are also directedto work in Sittwe.

"Themonthly salaries are not being sent to the staff in rural areas. They mustcollect their salaries when they come to town. Those unable to come to theoffice have been asked to send reports. Initially, the senior  staff wereasked to come to Sittwe, but now the rural staff have also been directed tocome back to the capital city," he explained.

As a resultof the ongoing conflicts in the Rakhine region, many  government employeesbased in the Sittwe urban area have resigned from their positions due to thesecurity concern.

Due to theincreasing number of unauthorized absences by the  staff working under thejunta, there are reports indicating that the staff from Rakhine will bepermitted to travel long distances with departmental travel authorization.