September 21st, 2022
The military council is using stranded civilians in Moebye in southern Shan State which sees intense fighting as human shields, according to the allied revolutionary forces.
Civilian houses are destroyed by the military council’s persistent firing of 120-mm rockets (MLRS- Multi Launch Rocket System) using tanks.
“We frequently urge the public to move to safer places. It is convenient for us if the people flee for their lives. We understand that the public may face difficulties. I would like to call on them to be patient with it. We are okay if compared with the comrades who are fighting against the military by sacrificing their lives. Our comrades have to sacrifice their lives when they rescue the stranded people. We also worry that they may get injured in the fighting,” a member of the allied force says.
Since 1 am on September 19th, the military council is firing 120-mm long-range using tanks.
Since September 12th, the military council troops stationed in the compound of Roman Catholic Christian Church in Moebye withdrew due to heavy casualties. Fighting with the allied forces has intensified till date as the military council conducts a massive offensive with the use of excessive forces.
Currently, around 100 civilians who are unable to flee are left stranded at Settawyar monastery and Mwaytaw monastery in Moebye. The military council is using them as human shields.
The stranded women have to prepare foods for the junta’s soldiers.
“We are really difficult. We have no money to flee as fighting takes place for more than one or two days. There are no donors like before even if we arrive at the IDP camp. We have no funeral fee even if we die. We want the public to understand the stranded people,” a 50-year-old woman who moved from Moebye to Pekon on September 19th.
At 2 am on September 19th, there was intense fighting between the allied forces and the military council troops which arrived in Moebye by two military columns. The military suffers heavy losses in the fighting. It is unable to confirm the number of casualties as fighting continues, the allied forces say.
Three members from the allied force were killed and one other seriously injured in the military council’s airstrikes and artillery shelling.
A combined force of Moebye People’s Defense Force (PDF_, Pekon PDF, Loikaw PDF, Demawso PDF, Nay Pyi Taw PDF, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) B03, the Karenni Army (KA), the Karenni Generation Z (KGZ), the Underground Revolution Force (URF) and the central command (Battalion-1107) under the National Unity Government (NUG) jointly attack the military council in Moebye.
Until September 20th, fighting continued to intensify in Moebye. The Moebye PDF issued a statement urging the people to flee to safer places and to avoid using Moebye road.
On September 16th, the indiscriminate artillery shelling by the military council killed four civilians including two children taking shelter in the compound of Mwaytaw monastery in Moebye. The allied forces worry as the military threatens the civilians stranded in Mwaytaw monastery.
The Network Media Group (NMG) covers this news based on the information available from the information team as the majority of areas in Moebye have no access to phone lines. The NMG is still trying to get contact with the comrades on the ground.
Sent by NMG