Fighting between junta troops and civilian resistance groups trying to overthrow Burma’s military dictatorship has prevented supplies of fuel, rice and other vital foodstuffs not grown by farmers in the remote town in southern Chin State from reaching Matupi for several months, causing the price of remaining supplies to rise exponentially or become unavailable altogether.
A local source, requesting anonymity, told Khonumthung News that before the fighting, much of the rice was shipped by lorries from Pakokku in the nearby Magwe Region along the Matupi-Mindat-Hakha road.
A bag of rice that used to cost $21 now costs $33. The price of a litre of petroleum has risen from 60 cents to $3.
An elderly man, who doesn’t want to give his name, said they complained to their General Administration Development officer about the problem over a week ago, but nothing was done. “If we’re still facing fuel shortages until May and June, farmers won’t be able to plough their paddy fields.”
The MPT tower, which relies on battery charged by a diesel generator, hasn’t been working since the first week of February and no one has phone or internet access.
The violence between the regime’s armed forces and the Chin Defence Forces (CDF) has displaced the entire population of Rezua in Matupi Township. Many of the 4,000 inhabitants of the town, inhabited by the Zotung people, have crossed the border into the Indian state of Mizoram, where thousands have already sought refuge since the fighting began in Chin State last May, while others are hiding in villages near the town.
“The Burma Army (BA) is in the town and CDF is attacking it,” said a resident who fled the town on the Matupi-Hakha road after fresh fighting was triggered by the regime sending reinforcements. The local chapter of CDF fought with BA in the town for over a week in January, killing at least 18 soldiers, according to their own accounts, and the groups also clashed last October.
Since last autumn, the regime has launched a major offensive against the resistance fighters in Chin State and Sagaing Region, which has proven to be a strong fighting force against the dictatorship despite being vastly outnumbered and rudimentarily armed.