A statement released by the Three Brotherhood Alliance on 18 Januaryexpressed concern over the military junta's disruption of communicationservices in Rakhine State.

Itexpressed serious concern over the junta’s deliberate discontinuation ofcommunication lines in certain Rakhine townships.

Thestatement pointed out that their concern is rooted in past experiences, whereevidence indicates that the junta forces tend to commit more war crimes againstthe civilians when the internet communication is deliberately restricted.

All phoneand internet services in the Rakhine region have gone out of order except forMytel.

Since 16January, the MPT services in Sittwe township have been experiencing slowdowns.Today it is completely disconnected.

A Sittweresident  reported that the communication services from all the operators(except for Mytel) were not available.

There is noofficial statement from the junta regarding the disruption of phone andinternet services in the region.