Airlines resume domestic flights in Myanmar
Flight ticket sale companies stated that Myanmar Airways International (MAI), Mingalar Air, Myanmar National Airlines, Air Thanlwin and Mann Yadanarpon Airlines will resume selling tickets today for domestic flights due to an “improvement” in jet fuel supply. This follows an order from regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday that airline services must prioritize towns “difficult to access by road.”
Sources told DVB that at least three airlines stopped selling tickets for domestic flights on March 20. MAI shared on social media that it resumed domestic flights yesterday, while the others have yet to confirmed this. It also reinstated its baggage allowance to 30 kg per passenger in economy class and 40 kg per passenger in business class on March 26, after 10 kg were reduced from March 22-25, due to “an aviation fuel shortage.”
The regime’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) imposed new fuel-rationing measures, ordering its employees to work from home every Wednesday starting on March 25 until further notice. It also recommended the private sector do the same. The NDSC restricted some vehicle owners from purchasing fuel from once every 24 hours to once or twice a week to “prepare for future energy challenges.”
India claims foreigners confess to drone training in Chin State
Six Ukrainians and one American have allegedly confessed to India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) that they conducted training for unnamed resistance groups in Burma’s Chin State “on several occasions.” India claims the seven smuggled drones and jamming equipment from Europe into Burma, via India. They were all arrested at airports in Kolkata, Delhi, and Lucknow on March 13 and remain in NIA custody.
The seven suspects were identified as U.S. national Matthew VanDyke and Ukrainian nationals Maksym Honcharuk, Petro Hubra, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Taras Slyviak, and Viktor Kaminskyi. VanDyke reportedly founded Sons of Liberty International in 2014, which provides “security and military consulting and training to communities fighting terrorism, insurgency, and oppressive regimes.”
The six Ukrainians are reportedly war veterans and drone specialists. VanDyke is accused of recruiting them to provide training to groups in Burma opposed to the 2021 military coup. The U.S. Embassy in India said it is aware of the case but declined to provide further details, citing privacy concerns. Ukraine’s embassy in India has questioned the basis of the arrests, claiming that the NIA may have relied on Russian intelligence.
Mixed opinions on work-from-home order from regime
Regime employees began remote work on Wednesday, following the NDSC order for regime staff to work from home every Wednesday beginning on March 25. The work-from-home order is the latest attempt to conserve fuel due to rising global prices following the start of the war in Iran, which began on Feb. 28.
“I don’t have to spend hours queuing for fuel,” one employee in the capital Naypyidaw told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that he uses a motorcycle to commute to his office every weekday. Another employee said that working from home is “difficult” due to the “unpredictable power outages and poor internet connectivity.”
A member of the regime’s General Administration Department (GAD) told DVB on the condition of anonymity that sharing sensitive information online among staff members may lead to security breaches, adding that similar breaches occurred when they worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
News by Region
MANDALAY—Residents of Mogok Township told DVB that the People’s Defence Force (PDF) has withdrawn from areas under its control four months after the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) handed over Mogok to the regime on Nov. 30. Mogok is located 124 miles (200 km) north of Mandalay.
A Mogok resident told DVB that most PDF units have relocated to areas of Sagaing and Magway regions administered by the National Unity Government (NUG). A DVB request for comment from the NUG went unanswered. Regime forces recaptured Tagaung town, 131 miles (210 km) north of Mandalay, from the PDF on March 10.
SAGAING—A Banmauk Township resident told DVB that regime forces rely on brokers to transport fuel through territory controlled by the PDF. Banmauk, located 235 miles (378 km) north of Monywa, was recaptured by regime forces on Feb. 8. But the PDF operates checkpoints in the eastern part of the township, according to residents.
The NUG, which administers the area, reportedly charges a tax of 200,000-300,000 MMK ($47-71 USD) per 220 liter barrel. Pro-regime forces, including the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), want to recapture Indaw Township, 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Banmauk, seized by the PDF in 2025.
SHAN—The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) told DVB that it stopped taxing vehicles at its two checkpoints in Kutkai Township’s Namhpatkar village, 27 miles (43 km) north of Kutkai town, after the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) ordered it this week. The KIA seized Namhpatkar in 2024.
Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, denied that the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) ordered KIA to retreat from the Lashio-Muse road on March 17. The MNDAA seized control of Kutkai, 47 miles (75 km) north of the regional capital Lashio, from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) on March 15.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,320 MMK)
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