BANGKOK (AP) — Guerrilla fighters from Myanmar’s Karen ethnic minority claimed Monday to be close to seizing control of a major trading town bordering Thailand, as soldiers and civil servants loyal to the military government appeared to be preparing to abandon their positions.
The occupation of Myawaddy town by the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, or KNU, appeared imminent as the guerrillas seized or besieged strategic army outposts on the town’s outskirts, a spokesperson and members of the KNU said Monday.
Myawaddy, in Kayin state, is Myanmar’s most active trading post with Thailand, and its fall would be the latest in a series of shock defeats suffered by the army since last October, when an alliance of three other ethnic rebel groups launched an offensive in the country’s northeast. Over the past five months, the army has been routed in northern Shan state, where it conceded control of several border crossings, in Rakhine state in the west, and is under growing attack elsewhere.
The military government under Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has acknowledged it is under pressure, and recently introduced conscription to boost its ranks.
The nationwide conflict in Myanmar began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.
Three residents of Myawaddy town, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear being arrested by either warring side, told The Associated Press by phone that they had heard no sounds of the fighting outside since Sunday afternoon. They said most residents were working as usual, while others were preparing to flee to Mae Sot, just across the border in Thailand. Two of them said they had not seen any members of the government’s security forces since Sunday.
The situation was highlighted Sunday night when a Myanmar plane made an unscheduled flight to Mae Sot from Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. Thai media reported that the plane had received permission from Thai authorities to evacuate people fleeing Myawaddy. It was not clear if those fleeing, described as military and civil servants loyal to Myanmar's military government, had already crossed into Thailand over the river that marks the border.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed that approval was given for three flights on a Yangon-Mae Sot route to transport passengers and cargo, one each day on Sunday through Tuesday. Myanmar’s government later canceled its requests for the remaining two flights.
The Thai government was closely monitoring the situation along the border, and is ready to take all necessary measures to maintain peace and order, and to keep the people along the border safe, the Thai ministry said.
In times of fighting along the frontier, Thailand has generally granted temporary shelter to Myanmar villagers. There are also about 87,000 living in nine long-term refugee camps.
The KNU, which is the leading political body for the Karen minority, said in a statement posted on Facebook that its armed wing and allied pro-democracy forces on Friday had seized the army base on the road to Myawaddy at Thin Gan Nyi Naung. It had served for nearly six decades as the military’s regional headquarters.
It said that 617 members of the security forces and their family members had surrendered. The KNU posted photos of the weapons that it claimed to have seized and captured military personnel and their family members given shelter in a school.
Two Karen guerrillas involved in their group’s offensive told AP on Monday that they have surrounded an army garrison about 4 kilometers (3 miles) to the west of Myawaddy that is in charge of the town’s security, and an artillery battalion to the south. Negotiations were underway for their surrenders, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release information.
They also said the Karen have control of about 60% to 70% of Myawaddy township, and are almost certain to capture the town itself after the two bases surrender or are overrun.
The Karen, like other minority groups living in border regions, have struggled for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government.
Fighting between the army and Karen armed groups intensified after the military seized power in 2021. Several ethnic rebel groups including the Karen have loose alliances with pro-democracy militias after the military takeover, and also offer refuge to the civilian opponents of the military government.
Members of the Karen National Liberation Army and People’s Defense Force collect weapons after they captured an army outpost, in the southern part of Myawaddy township in Kayin state, Myanmar, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/METRO)
Members of the Karen National Liberation Army and People’s Defense Force collect weapons after they captured an army outpost, in the southern part of Myawaddy township in Kayin state, Myanmar, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/METRO)
Members of the Karen National Liberation Army and People’s Defense Force examine two arrested soldiers after they captured an army outpost, in the southern part of Myawaddy township in Kayin state, Myanmar, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/METRO)
Palestinian medical officials said Monday that Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip overnight killed at least six people, including one woman.
The strikes came as ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday and received asylum from his longtime ally, according to Russian media, hours after rebels seized control of Damascus.
The U.N. Security Council plans to hold emergency closed consultations on Syria later Monday at Russia’s request.
Among the dead in the overnight Israeli strikes were Raed Ghabaien, who was released from Israeli detention in 2014, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the casualties were taken.
He was killed along with his wife when an Israeli strike hit their tent in the central town of Zuweida, the hospital records showed. Two other people were killed in a strike that hit their house late Sunday in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. Another two were killed in a strike in the Wadi Gaza area early Monday.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital’s morgue.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in the Gaza since the start of the war, according to local health authorities. They say most of the dead are women and children but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Israel says it only strikes militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250, including older adults and children. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
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TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Monday that a drone that appeared to have originated in Yemen slammed into a city in central Israel.
Video posted by Israeli news sites showed a large burst of smoke erupting from a high-rise apartment building.
The military said sirens were not sounded to warn of the incoming drone. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Iran-backed militants in Yemen have been attacking Israel since Hamas’ assault on southern Israel in October 2023.
Their drones have at times evaded Israel’s sophisticated aerial defense system.
ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish-backed forces, known as the Syrian National Army, launched an offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northern Syrian city of Manbijon on Dec. 6, days after similarly expelling the SDF fighters from the city of Tal Rifaat.
Turkish security officials said Monday that “control of Manbij has been secured,” without providing further detail. The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity, in line with Turkish regulations.
Turkey views the SDF, which is primarily composed of a Syrian Kurdish militia group, as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and a terrorist organization. The force however, has been a key partner of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State group.
BEIRUT — A Syrian opposition war monitor says a top aide to the brother of Syria’s ousted president was found dead in his office near the capital, Damascus.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Maj. Gen. Ali Mahmoud, who was in charge of Maher Assad’s office, had led a 2018 military campaign in southern Syria.
A video that circulated on social media allegedly showed Mahmoud covered in blood while sitting on a chair. His clothes appear to have been set on fire. It was not clear if he was killed by Maher Assad or he committed suicide, the observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said.
Maher Assad was in charge of the army’s 4th Armored Division which played a major role in Syria’s conflict since it began in March 2011.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister says the strikes were to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors.
Gideon Saar said Monday that “the only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens.”
“That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets so that they will not fall in the hands of extremists."
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s prime minister says most Cabinet ministers who are in Damascus are performing their duties from their offices to promote security and that food and medicine are available to the public.
“We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” Mohammed Ghazi Jalali told Sky News Arabia TV station on Monday.
The government is working with insurgents, Jalali said, adding that he is ready to meet their leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.
TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command says its forces launched dozens of airstrikes targeting Islamic State group camps and operatives in central Syria.
The strikes on Sunday were intended to "disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria,” it said in a statement.
The airstrikes hit over 75 targets using B-52s, F-15s and A-10s, it said, noting that damage assessments were underway and there were no indications of civilian casualties.
TOKYO — Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says Tokyo is watching recent development in Syria “with serious interest," while hoping for an improvement in human rights conditions for the Syrian people.
“Japan is gravely worried about large number of deaths among citizens and strongly concerned about further worsening of the humanitarian conditions,” Hayashi said Monday.
He added that Japan is “hopeful” that the latest developments could lead to an improvement in the situation.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters says his country is closely following developments related to the collapse of former President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria.
“This was a regime that perpetrated significant human rights abuses, including repeated chemical weapons attacks, against its own people for many years,” Peters said in a statement issued on Monday. “Now we need to see a peaceful transition with civilians protected and UN Security Council resolutions upheld. This is critical for moving towards a sustainable and comprehensive political solution.”
Smoke billows as people arrive to celebrate the fall of the Syrian government, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows crowds gathering at Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Israeli army vehicles park near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, near the town of Majdal Shams. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An Israeli soldier stands guard at a security fence near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Israeli soldiers stand guard on a security fence gate near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A Palestinian man mourns over bodies of a victim following Israeli bombardments, at the morgue of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)