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)
The masked gunman who stalked and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a law enforcement official said Thursday.
The gunman is still at large and a manhunt is underway.
Here's the latest:
The words emblazoned on the ammunition used in the shooting – “deny,” “defend” and “depose” – were written in permanent marker, according to a law enforcement official.
The official wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
— Jake Offenhartz
As of Thursday morning, police were still searching for the shooter.
They released new photos of a person they said is wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting. The images match the lobby of the HI New York City hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including its black-and-white checkered floor and a distinctive bench in the shape of a semi-circle.
An employee at the hostel said police had visited but declined to provide further information. Danielle Brumfitt, a spokesperson for the lodging, said in an emailed statement that they are cooperating with the NYPD but can’t comment due to the active investigation.
According to the official who spoke to AP about the ammunition messaging, investigators are running DNA and fingerprint analysis on items found near the shooting, including a water bottle, that they believe the suspect may have discarded. Additionally, they’re looking into whether the suspect had pre-positioned a bike as part of an escape plan.
Doctors and patients have become particularly frustrated with prior authorizations, which are requirements that an insurer approve surgery or care before it happens.
UnitedHealthcare was named in an October report detailing how the insurer’s prior authorization denial rate for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years. The report from the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also named rivals Humana and CVS.
Insurers say tactics like prior authorization are needed to limit unnecessary care and help control spiraling medical costs.
Frustrations extend beyond the coverage of care. Expensive breakthrough medications to slow Alzheimer’s disease or help with obesity are frequently not covered or have coverage limits.
In the U.S. health care system, patients get coverage through a mix of private insurers such as UnitedHealthcare and government-funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. That can prove particularly frustrating for doctors and patients because coverage often varies by insurer.
Polls reflect those frustrations with the U.S. health care system in general and insurance companies in particular.
About two-thirds of Americans said health insurance companies deserve “a lot of blame” for high health care costs, according to a KFF poll conducted in February.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting — “deny,” “defend” and “depose” — echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.
The three words were emblazoned on the ammunition a masked gunman used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday. They’re similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend” — the way some attorneys describe how insurers deny services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book that was highly critical of the industry.
Police haven’t officially commented on the wording or any connection between them and the common phrase. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting a deepening frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care.
▶ Read more about the messaging left behind by the shooter
The New York Police Department released photos Thursday morning, asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individual pictured. Police say the person is wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
A Senate panel has been investigating how frequently three major insurers, including UnitedHealthcare, deny care to patients who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. It has also investigated the use of artificial intelligence in deny those claims.
Medicare Advantage is the private version of Medicare, which provides health insurance to millions of older Americans.
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee’s report released earlier this year found that as UnitedHealthcare relied more on its automated system to review claims denials increased for post-acute treatment, which includes nursing home or rehabilitation care. The insurer denied nearly a quarter of claims, a rate that doubled over just a two-year period from 2020 to 2022.
Joseph Kenny, the NYPD chief of detectives, says the shooter wore a black face mask, black-and-white sneakers and a distinctive gray backpack.
He arrived outside the hotel about five minutes before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson did, then waited and ignored other pedestrians before he approached Thompson from behind.
After the assailant began to fire, his 9 mm pistol jammed but he quickly fixed it and kept firing, Kenny said, another sign of the shooter’s professionalism.
“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” Kenny said.
The hostels were on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and police were following a tip that the suspect may have stayed at one of the residences, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing search.
According to an employee of Kama Central Park, two detectives arrived at the hostel at 7 a.m. Thursday with a photo of the shooter and asked staff if they recognized the man. They did not, the employee said, and the detectives left soon after. An employee at the nearby HI New York City hostel also confirmed that police had visited the location Thursday, but declined to provide further information.
— Jake Offenhartz
New York Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday the shooter used a silencer — something he’d never encountered in his 22 years as a police officer.
“In all of my years in law enforcement I have never seen a silencer before,” Adams, a retired NYPD captain, said in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And so that was really something that was shocking to us all.”
The masked gunman used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a law enforcement official said Thursday. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The words on the ammunition may have been a reference to strategies insurance companies use to try to avoid paying claims.
Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny had said earlier.
— Mike Balsamo, Jake Offenhartz and Michael R. Sisak
The chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest insurers, was killed Wednesday in midtown Manhattan in what police described as a targeted attack by a shooter outside a hotel where the company was holding a conference.
▶ Read more about the key things to know about the fatal attack
Flags fly at half mast in front of UnitedHealthcare headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024, after its CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York City. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)
This still image from surveillance video obtained by the Associated Press shows the suspect, left, sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, center, outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
