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(CNN) – Myanmar’s military junta has cut all wireless internet services until further notice, in what appears to be part of a concerted effort to control communications and messaging in the Southeast Asian country.
Pro-democracy protesters repeatedly filled the streets across the country for nearly two months in protest after the military overthrew the elected government over allegations of voter fraud and installed a ruling junta.
The army has responded to the protests with a bloody crackdown. At least 543 people have been killed by junta forces, according to the advocacy group the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that the junta had also “forcibly disappeared hundreds of people,” including politicians, election officials, journalists, activists and protesters, since the February 1 coup.
At least 2,751 people, including journalists, protesters, activists, government officials, trade unionists, writers, students, civilians and even children, have been detained, often in nightly raids, according to the AAPP.
On Friday, most Myanmar citizens woke up without internet access after telecommunications companies received instructions from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to stop wireless broadband internet services.
Customers of telecommunications company Ooredoo received text messages the night before saying that wireless services would be interrupted until further notice. The directive dates from April 1. Most clients in Myanmar connect to the internet through wireless data services and the move will leave only those with physical connections to access the web.
Mobile data has also been disabled for the 19th day, according to Internet monitor Netblocks.
CNN has reached out to the Myanmar military for comment on the closure of wireless internet.
As the military stifles the flow of information, the security forces have detained dozens of journalists, according to the UN, as have citizens who have spoken to the media, according to reports.
A CNN team spoke with residents on Friday while visiting a bazaar in Yangon’s Insein Township. CNN is in Myanmar with the permission of the military and is escorted by the military, including during the market visit.
Two women were subsequently arrested, according to a report by local outlet The Irrawaddy. The report included an eyewitness account in which a woman was seen speaking to the CNN team. It is unclear from that account if that woman was among those arrested shortly after. An impromptu protest against the regime broke out while the team was present, their report adds.
Multiple unverified reports posted on social media said that at least two people were taken away by security forces after speaking with the CNN team.
CNN has reached out to the Myanmar military for comment on the reported arrests.
In its latest report, the AAPP said it could confirm the location of “only a small fraction” of the recent detainees it had identified.
The co-chairs of the Group of Friends of the United Nations to Protect Journalists issued a statement on Thursday expressing “deep concern over attacks on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the situation of journalists and workers of the media in Myanmar and strongly condemn his harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as human rights defenders and other members of civil society. “
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Myanmar’s junta orders internet shutdown as more pro-democracy protesters are detained.”
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