February 17th, 2022
Since 10 am today, fighting has intensified in Moebye in southern Shan State.
The people are stranded by the fighting between the junta troops and a combined force of the Moebye People’s Defence Force (PDF) and local revolution force as the military council has taken position in many parts of Moebye, a spokesperson of the Moebye PDF told the Kantarawaddy Times at 9:30 am today.
At 6 am on February 17th, the military council started carrying our indiscriminate firing of heavy weapons.
A local said: “The military has threatened that it would fire shots if the men go outside. Some people cannot go outside. Fighting is taking place. We are trying to rescue the stranded people. Now we are not in a position to rescue them.”
A spokesperson of the Moebye PDF said: “The people need to flee to safer places swiftly. Most of the people here want to flee the town. The people find it difficult to leave the town as the military has blocked all exits. I would like to call on the organizations to pressure the military in order that the stranded people can leave the town.”
Currently, the military council is carrying out offensive operations in Moebye, using tanks. A woman from Sikar ward No.1 in Moebye sustained leg injury, according to the statement by the Moebye Rescue Team.
Since February 15th, the military council has been doing military activities and searching the houses in downtown Moebye.
On February 16th, the military council arrested 10 civilians who were doing farming at the entrance of Moebye, as human shields, according to the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF)- Pekon.
Seven soldiers of the military council were killed in an attack on a military outpost by a combined force of the Karenni Army (KA), the KNDF, the MB-PDF, the PK-PDF and the PDF in Nyaungwaing ward in Moebye Township on February 16th. It is still unknown about today’s casualties in the fighting.
Sent by Maw Oo Myar (the Kantarawaddy Times)