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)
NEW YORK (AP) — Jay-Z says a rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt.
A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13, amended the lawsuit Sunday to include a new allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault.
The 24-time Grammy award winning rapper, producer and music mogul called the allegations “idiotic” and “heinous in nature" in a statement released by Roc Nation, one of his companies.
His lawyer also argued Monday that his accuser, who is only identified as Jane Doe, should have to reveal her identity, or have her lawsuit dismissed outright.
Attorney Alex Spiro said in a filing in Manhattan federal court that the woman hasn’t provided any specific evidence to justify her anonymity and that her “vague assertions of potential harm fall far short of the stringent requirements” under law.
He also noted the court has already ruled that some of the other sexual misconduct lawsuits brought by the woman's attorney against Combs do not meet the criteria to proceed anonymously.
“Mr. Carter deserves to know the identity of the person who is effectively accusing him — in sensationalized, publicity-hunting fashion — of criminal conduct, demanding massive financial compensation, and tarnishing a reputation earned over decades,” Spiro wrote. “He has never been accused of, let alone engaged in, any sexual misconduct.”
Jay-Z, in his statement released earlier on social media, also revealed that he had anonymously sued the woman's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, alleging he was trying to blackmail the rapper by threatening to make the rape allegation public if he didn't agree to a legal settlement.
He said Buzbee sent a letter to his lawyer appearing to seek a settlement, but the letter had the “opposite effect" on him.
“It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion,” Jay-Z's statement read. “So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!”
The litigation is part of a wave of sexual assault lawsuits levied against Combs as the hip-hop mogul remains in custody in New York awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The unnamed woman says she was hanging around Radio City Music Hall during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and managed to talk a limousine driver into bringing her to a celebrity-studded party at a private residence after the event.
She said that while she was in the limousine, she was asked to sign a nondisclosure document. Once at the party, the lawsuit said, she took a drink that made her feel “woozy and lightheaded” and went into a bedroom to lie down.
She said that Combs and Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, then barged into the room along with another unnamed celebrity and raped her. The woman said she eventually escaped the room, fled the house and called for a ride from a nearby gas station.
Buzbee, a personal injury lawyer in Houston, said the notion that he was trying to blackmail Jay-Z is “stupid and laughable,” and that his letter simply sought confidential mediation in the litigation.
“What he fails to say in his recent statement is that my firm sent his lawyer a basic demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him,” he said in an emailed statement. “Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve.”
Buzbee announced at a news conference in October that he represents some 120 people — both men and women — with allegations of sexual misconduct against Combs.
His firm, which has set up a 1-800 number for accusers, began filing a wave of suits against the hip-hop mogul a few weeks later.
Jay-Z, in his statement, challenged Buzbee to seek criminal charges and said his “heart and support goes out to true victims in the world.”
He also lamented that he and wife Beyoncé will likely have to address the claims with their three children and “explain the cruelty and greed of people.”
“I mourn yet another loss of innocence,” Jay-Z wrote.
Combs' lawyers, in a statement, also dismissed Buzbee’s lawsuits as “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
Combs was denied bail a third time last month. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges he coerced and abused women for years and faces trial in May.
Jay-Z and Combs are part of a generation of hip-hop titans who rose to prominence in the 2000s, emerging as wide-ranging entrepreneurs and two of the world’s wealthiest rappers. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Jay-Z’s net worth to be $2.5 billion.
The artists have collaborated over the years, with Jay-Z being featured on Combs' debut album, “No Way Out” and Combs appearing on Jay-Z’s sophomore album, “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.”
While the pair has been frequently photographed together at events, they've also been competitors. Diddy launched his Bad Boy Records around the same time Jay-Z launched his Roc-A-Fella record label.
AP Music Writer Maria Sherman in New York contributed to this story.
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
FILE - Jay-Z appears during a news conference announcing the launch of Dream Chasers record label in joint venture with Roc Nation in New York on July 23, 2019. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Musician Jay-Z stands on the field before an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys, on Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)