Separatist group claims deadliest day in recent history in Pakistan's Balochistan and threatens more

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A separatist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for the deadliest day in recent history in Pakistan's Balochistan and warned that “even more intense and widespread" attacks were coming, while the prime minister declared there would not be peace talks with the insurgents who also have targeted Chinese-funded projects there.

The multiple attacks in southwestern Pakistan killed more than 50 people, mostly civilians. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army group insisted it did not harm civilians and claimed that 800 of its well-trained fighters took part in the shootings and bombings that began late Sunday.

The attacks indicate that the BLA, which has targeted security forces for years in small-scale attacks and is allied with the Pakistani Taliban, is now much more organized.

But Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a Cabinet meeting there would be no peace talks with the group. And Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Quetta, Balochistan's capital, there was no need for a large-scale operation, saying the insurgents can eliminated by police.

Provincial chief minister Sarfraz Bugti said 53 people, including security forces, were killed in the attacks that drew nationwide condemnation. On Monday, he said operations against the insurgents continued and that “those who killed our innocent civilians and security with be dealt with a full force.”

The prime minister said the attacks in Balochistan seek to harm Chinese-funded development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which includes roads and rail systems to link western China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s southwestern Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea. In recent years, BLA and other militants have attacked Chinese nationals working on CPEC projects.

Some killed in the latest attacks were ordered off local transport and shot, a witness said.

Sakina Nazir said she was traveling in a bus with her husband when gunmen signaled the driver to halt. She said the gunmen entered their bus, checked passengers' national identity cards and ordered some people out, including her husband. Minutes later, the survivors heard gunshots.

Balochistan has long been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks mainly on security forces. The separatists demand independence from the central government.

Also Tuesday, Pakistan's army said its troops killed 25 militants in recent days in the country's northwest. In a statement, it said four soldiers were also killed in the shootout in Khyber, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

Associated Press writer Asim Tanveer contributed to this story from Multan, Pakistan.

Farhan Asif, a freelance web developer who was charged with spreading misinformation that helped spark widespread rioting in the U.K, talks to the media after his acquittal from court, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Members of media chase Farhan Asif, center, a freelance web developer who was arrested and charged with cyber terrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation that led to widespread rioting in the U.K. earlier this month, as he leaves with officials after his court appearance, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People look at a burnt vehicle which was torched by gunmen after they killed passengers at a highway in Musakhail, a district in Baluchistan province in restive southwestern Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rahmat Khan)

Relatives take care of a passenger, wounded by gunmen at a highway in Musakhail, after receiving initial treatment at a hospital, in Quetta, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

Relatives gather around a body of a passenger, killed by gunmen at a highway in Musakhail, as they wait for transportation at a hospital, in Quetta, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

A man comforts another, who mourns over the death of his family member, killed by gunmen at a highway in Musakhail, at a hospital, in Quetta, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of participating in a coup attempt.

The defendants, most of them Congolese but also including a Briton, Belgian and Canadian, have five days to appeal the verdict on charges that included attempted coup, terrorism and criminal association. Fourteen people were acquitted in the trial, which opened in June.

The court in the capital, Kinshasa, convicted the 37 defendants and imposed “the harshest penalty, that of death” in the verdict delivered by the presiding judge, Maj. Freddy Ehuma, at an open-air military court proceeding that was broadcast live on TV. The three Americans, wearing blue and yellow prison clothes and sitting in plastic chairs, appeared stoic as a translator explained their sentence.

Richard Bondo, the lawyer who defended the six foreigners, said he disputed whether the death penalty could currently be imposed in Congo, despite its reinstatement earlier this year, and said his clients had inadequate interpreters during the investigation of the case.

"We will challenge this decision on appeal,” Bondo said.

Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot while resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.

Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who is a U.S. citizen, and two other Americans were convicted in the the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and was simply following his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile.

In the months since her son's arrest, Sawyer has declined multiple interview requests and has focused her energy on fundraising to send Marcel money for food, hygiene products and a bed. He has been sleeping on the floor of his prison cell and is suffering from a liver disease, she said.

The other Americans are Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, who flew to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga for what his family believed was a vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company. The company was set up in Mozambique in 2022, according to an official journal published by Mozambique’s government, and a report by the Africa Intelligence newsletter.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Friday that the federal government was aware of the verdict. The department has not declared the three Americans wrongfully detained, making it unlikely that U.S. officials would try to negotiate their return.

“We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court’s decision," Miller said. "Embassy staff have been attending these proceedings as they’ve gone through the process. We continue to attend the proceedings and follow the developments closely.”

Thompson had been invited on an Africa trip by the younger Malanga, his former high school football teammate in a Salt Lake City suburb. But the itinerary might have included more than sightseeing. Other teammates alleged that Marcel had offered up to $100,000 to join him on a “security job” in Congo.

Thompson’s family maintains he had no knowledge of the elder Malanga’s intentions, no plans for political activism and didn’t even plan to enter Congo. He and the Malangas were meant to travel only to South Africa and Eswatini, his stepmother, Miranda Thompson, told The Associated Press in May.

The Thompsons have been working with a lawyer in their home state of Utah to encourage U.S. officials to intervene. Utah’s U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee have not publicly urged the U.S. government to advocate for the Americans' release.

“My thoughts are with the families during this difficult time. We will continue to work with the State Department to receive updates on this case," Lee told the AP on Friday.

“This is an extremely difficult and frightening situation for the families involved," Romney's office said in a written statement. "Our office has consistently engaged with the State Department and will continue to do so.”

Last month, the military prosecutor, Lt. Col. Innocent Radjabu, called on the judges to sentence all of the defendants to death, except for one who suffers from “psychological problems.”

Congo reinstated the death penalty earlier this year, lifting a more than two-decade-old moratorium, as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country.

Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers Monika Pronczuk in Dakar, Senegal, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

America Marcel Malanga attends a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Back row, Tyler Thompson, 2nd left, Marcel Malanga, center, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 2nd right, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Tyler Thompson, left, Marcel Malanga and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

America Marcel Malanga attends a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

America Tyler Thompson attends a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

American Tyler Thompson arrives for a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Tyler Thompson, left, Marcel Malanga and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

American Marcel Malanga arrives for a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Back row, Tyler Thompson, 2nd left, Marcel Malanga, center, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 2nd right, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

American Marcel Malanga, fourth right, stands with others during a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

FILE - From left T,yler Thompson Jr, Marcel Malanga and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, all American citizens, face the court in Kinshasa with 52 other defendants on June 7, 2024, accused of a role in last month's attempted coup in Congo led by little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in which six people were killed. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)