Phone lines, mobile internet services cut off in Shan State’s Moebye

By DMG 14 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
14 September 2022, Moebye 

Phone and mobile internet services have been cut off in Moebye, Shan State, amid intense fighting between junta troops and the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), according to a source from the KNDF. 

Clashes broke out on September 8, and phone and mobile internet services have not been available since Tuesday, said the KNDF source. 

“We lost access to mobile networks when we entered the town,” said the source. 

Because of ongoing fighting, it is still difficult to contact residents that remain in the town, said volunteers helping the displaced residents from Moebye. 

“We can’t contact them by phone. They said they can’t make phone calls in and around the town, and that they can only make phone calls from hills, but only for a few minutes. So, we are concerned about the safety of residents who remain in the town,” said a volunteer. 

Phone lines and mobile internet services were still unavailable on Wednesday, according to the volunteer. 

The Moebye People’s Defense Force has advised against travel on the Moebye-Pekon-Loikaw road, and urged remaining residents in Moebye to leave the town as junta troops are attempting to retaliate against resistance forces. 

“Electricity has also been cut off in Moebye. We urge the residents to leave the town as soon as possible. We have restricted travel on the road,” a resistance fighter of Moebye PDF told DMG. DMG could not independently verify reports of power cuts. 

Junta troops and combined anti-regime forces headed by the KNDF have clashed since September 8, with both sides reportedly suffering casualties. 

A child died and three local residents were seriously injured by artillery shells that have damaged more than 100 houses in the town since early September.