Military Council Arrests Fuel Sellers In Tanai
By Network Media Group
Thursday, July 13, 2023
The regime’s forces are arresting people who sell petrol while there is a major fuel shortage in Tanai, causing prices to skyrocket in the town on the Lido Road in Kachin State.
“They (police) have been arresting people selling fuel in Tanai since Saturday (8 July),” said a local who requested anonymity. He said fuel costs 10,000 kyat ($5) per litre and 60,000 kyat per gallon on the black market.
“At the moment, people can only buy it at Tine Kyaw Station outside the town because both the police and soldiers have arrested the sellers in Tanai,” the man explained.
The Military Council has started restricting the sale of fuel and rice transported to Tanai Township via Lido Road earlier this year, causing the price of rice to triple. A bag now costs 130,000 kyat, the source said.
“I do not think the price will go down anytime soon,” said another man from the town who also wished to remain anonymous.
A woman who also requested anonymity said, “It’s terrible in Tanai. We have to walk in the town instead of riding a motorbike. It is difficult for pregnant women to walk to the clinic or hospital. Parents have to carry their children on their backs to take them to school.”
She has no idea why the regime wants to force the closure of petrol stations.
Political analysts suspect, however, that it wants to restrict supplies to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is fighting the Burma army in the township.
Since the second week of July, clashes between the KIA and the Military Council-backed Warazup People’s Militia Force have escalated near the Tanai to Myitkyina road, closing Lido Road in Tanai Township.
