Fuel supplies have almost dried up in Putao, where prices have soured since last week amid fighting between Kachin resistance groups and regime forces that started in early February.

Fuel prices rose after the People's Defence Force, fighting alongside the Kachin Independence Army, warned against using the road from Putao to Myitkyina, which the regime is trying to take back from the resistance groups.

“People are worried and none of us feel safe here. Some people have already dug bunkers,” a local source told NMG on condition of anonymity. He said that 350 ml of petroleum, which used to cost 56 cents, now costs up to $4.50, too expensive for most people.

Food prices have also gone up. With about ninety percent of goods being transported by lorry to the remote, mountainous town in northern Kachin State, the cost of other products is also expected to rise soon.

All four major petrol stations in Putao have closed and the only way to fill up is to buy it from street stalls. An anonymous source at the Putao bus terminal said that all buses have stopped and he doesn't know when operations will resume.

Meanwhile, the Burma Army is airlifting troops into the town while clashes have broken out in Lon Shar Yang, N'se Yang, Hpert Mar, Sumpyi Yang and Tang Ja villages in Putao Township.