On 27th May, a member of an armed group sent a message to all bus stations and drivers that they will close the main road which connects Lashio to Muse. The reason for the road closure is the ongoing conflict between the KIA and Burmese Military. According to a villager “Many cars and buses use this road and it is usually extremely busy. However, last night, I didn’t see any buses running. The road was so quiet.”
“We are worried that fighting will start again, also I saw no one on the road last night. We couldn’t access electricity for the past two nights and the area was too quiet. Villagers had to try to generate their own electricity by using diesel motors but are afraid that by doing this as they will attract the unwanted attention of the Burmese soldiers stationed nearby, it so quiet in Kutkai Township” according to villager said.
Another villager added “I saw a few cars ware traveling on the road this afternoon, I noticed that it was very different from how is normally is. Transportation fees have also increased, in the past they asked that we pay 10,000 Kyat per person but currently the drivers are asked to pay 15,000 Kyat each.”
Many traders are asking the Burmese authorities to address this problem. If the road remains closed the cost of importing goods will increase and at the same time exporting goods will take longer and this could damage export relations and ultimately lose the traders a lot of money, and the price of local goods will also increase.
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