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Tag: Rebellions and uprisings

  • 2 peacekeepers killed, 4 wounded in attack in Mali, UN says

    2 peacekeepers killed, 4 wounded in attack in Mali, UN says

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    UNITED NATIONS — Two U.N. peacekeepers from Nigeria were killed and four others wounded in an attack Friday on a peace patrol in the town of Timbuktu in northern Mali, the United Nations said.

    The U.N. Security Council said a member of Mali’s security forces was also killed in the attack.

    U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said one of the peacekeepers killed was a woman.

    U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council strongly condemned the attack.

    The council stressed that involvement in planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks targeting U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.

    Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising when mutinous soldiers overthrew the president. The power vacuum that resulted ultimately led to a jihadist insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013.

    Insurgents remain active in Mali and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali since 2015, stoking animosity and violence between ethnic groups in the region.

    Tensions have grown between Mali, its African neighbors and the West since Mali’s government allowed Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to deploy on its territory.

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  • Judge to rule on Castillo’s detention amid Peru protests

    Judge to rule on Castillo’s detention amid Peru protests

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    LIMA, Peru — A judge in Peru was deciding Thursday whether ousted President Pedro Castillo will remain in custody while authorities build their rebellion case against him with a positive ruling expected to ignite further protests.

    The ruling, which would extend his detention for up to 18 months, would come a day after the South American country’s government declared a police state as it struggles to calm nationwide violent protests stemming from Castillo’s ouster last week.

    The virtual hearing took place even though Castillo refused to be served with a notification.

    Protesters are demanding Castillo’s freedom, the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the immediate scheduling of general elections to pick a new president and replace all members of Congress. In a renewed effort to placate demonstrators, Boluarte on Wednesday said the general elections could potentially be scheduled for December 2023, four months earlier than the timing she had proposed Congress Monday.

    Castillo was taken into custody after he was ousted by lawmakers when he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of an impeachment vote.

    At least eight people have died since the demonstrations began Dec. 7, shortly after Castillos ouster. All deaths happened in rural, impoverished communities outside Lima, strongholds for Castillo, a political neophyte and former schoolteacher from a poor Andean mountain district.

    Despite the declaration allowing the armed forces to help maintain public order, in Andahuaylas, where at least four people have died since the demonstrations began, no soldiers were on the streets Thursday.

    Some grocery store owners were cleaning the roads littered with rocks and burned tires, but they planned to close the stores because of planned protests led by peasants from nearby rural communities.

    Judge Cesar San Martin Castro’s decision expected Thursday would come after Congress stripped Castillo of the privilege that keeps presidents from facing criminal charges.

    The state of emergency declaration suspends the rights of assembly and freedom of movement and empowers the police, supported by the military, to search people’s homes without permission or judicial order.

    Defense Minister Luis Otarola Peñaranda said the declaration was agreed to by the council of ministers.

    On Wednesday, Boluarte pleaded for calm as demonstrations continued against her and Congress.

    “Peru cannot overflow with blood,” she said.

    Castillo was ousted by lawmakers last week after he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of their third attempt to impeach him. His vehicle was intercepted as he traveled through Lima’s streets with his security detail. Prosecutors accused him of trying to seek political asylum at the Mexican Embassy.

    In a handwritten letter shared Wednesday with The Associated Press by his associate Mauro Gonzales, Castillo asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to intercede for his “rights and the rights of my Peruvian brothers who cry out for justice.” The commission investigates allegations of human rights violations and litigates them in some cases.

    In the last week, protesters have burned police stations, taken over an airstrip used by the armed forces and invaded the runway of the international airport in Arequipa, a gateway to some of Peru’s tourist attractions. The passenger train that carries visitors to Machu Picchu suspended service, and roadblocks on the Pan-American Highway have stranded trailer trucks for days, spoiling food bound for the capital.

    By Wednesday, members of the armed forces had already been deployed to Arequipa and other areas outside Lima. Securing rural areas far from the capital could take longer.

    ———

    Associated Press writer Franklin Briceño contributed to this report from Andahuaylas, Peru.

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  • Peru president proposes moving up elections amid protests

    Peru president proposes moving up elections amid protests

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    LIMA, Peru — Peru’s newest president, Dina Boluarte, gave in to protesters’ demands early Monday announcing in a nationally televised address that she will send Congress a proposal to move up elections.

    Boluarte’s decision came after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets around Peru for another day on Sunday to demand that she resign and schedule elections to replace her and Congress. The protests turned deadly, with at least two reported deaths in a remote community in the Andes, according to officials.

    Boluarte said she will propose the scheduling of general elections for April 2024. That marks a reversal as she had previously said she should be allowed to hold the office for the remaining 3 1/2 years of her predecessor’s term.

    “My duty as president of the republic in the current difficult time is to interpret, read and collect the aspirations, interests and concerns, if not of all, of the vast majority of Peruvians,” Boluarte said. “So, interpreting in the broadest way the will of the citizens… I have decided to assume the initiative to reach an agreement with the congress of the republic to advance the general elections.”

    Many of those demonstrating in the ongoing political crisis are demanding the release from custody of Pedro Castillo, the center-left president ousted Wednesday by lawmakers after he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of an impeachment vote.

    The protests rocking Peru heated up particularly in rural areas, strongholds for Castillo, a former schoolteacher and political newcomer from a poor Andean mountain district. Protesters set fire to a police station, vandalized a small airport used by the armed forces, and marched in the streets.

    A 15-year-old boy died of an injury suffered during a protest in the remote Andes community of Andahuaylas, Congresswoman Maria Taipe Coronado said as she made an impassioned plea from the legislative palace for Boluarte to step down.

    “The death of this compatriot is the responsibility of Mrs. Dina for not submitting her resignation,” charged Taipe, who is affiliated with the party which helped Castillo and Boluarte to their election last year as president and vice president respectively before both were kicked out of that party. “Since when is protesting a crime?”

    Taipe charged that authorities were using heavy-handed repressive tactics in quelling demonstrations. But it remains unclear how the boy was fatally injured, and state media reported a second death in the same community without giving details.

    Anthony Gutiérrez, director of a local hospital, told a radio station that the second protester to die was an 18-year-old person. At least 26 people also were reported injured.

    Hundreds of people also protested in Lima, the capital, where riot police used tear gas to push protesters back.

    Boluarte, in her address to the nation, declared a state of emergency in areas outside Lima where protests have been particularly violent.

    Boluarte, 60, was swiftly sworn in at midweek to replace Castillo, hours after he stunned the country by ordering the dissolution of Congress, which in turn dismissed him for “permanent moral incapacity.” Castillo was arrested on charges of rebellion.

    Castillo’s failed move against the opposition-led Congress came hours before lawmakers were set to start a third impeachment attempt against him.

    Scattered protests around the country have continued for days. Protesters have also setup roadblocks, leaving people stranded for hours.

    On Saturday in Andahuaylas, 16 people were treated for concussions at a hospital, and one of thos persons was was reported in serious condition.

    Boluarte has called for a time of national unity to heal from the latest upheaval. But many of those demonstrating in favor of Castillo have called her a “traitor.”

    “The life of no Peruvian deserves to be sacrificed for political interests,” Boluarte tweeted hours before her address to the nation. “I express my condolences for the death of a citizen in Andahuaylas. I reiterate my call for dialogue and to put an end to violence.”

    Meanwhile, in Lima, hundreds of people again gathered outside the legislative palace on Sunday. Dozens of police officers in riot gear used tear gas against those gathered, while just inside the building, lawmakers were beginning a session. Police also chased and beat protesters as they ran from the scene amid clouds of gas.

    Peru has had six presidents in the last six years, including three in a single week in 2020 when Congress flexed its impeachment powers.

    The power struggle in the country has continued as the Andes region and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in a half-century. The country of more than 33 million people is also experiencing a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections — having recorded about 4.3 million infections and 217,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

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  • EXPLAINER: What’s at stake in Turkey’s new Syria escalation

    EXPLAINER: What’s at stake in Turkey’s new Syria escalation

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    BEIRUT — After weeks of deadly Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria, Kurdish forces and international players are trying to gauge whether Ankara’s threats of a ground invasion are serious.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly warned of a new land incursion to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border, following a deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul. Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and on the Syria-based People’s Protection Units, or YPG. Both have denied involvement.

    On Nov. 20, Ankara launched a barrage of airstrikes, killing dozens, including civilians as well as Kurdish fighters and Syrian government troops. Human Rights Watch has warned that the strikes are exacerbating a humanitarian crisis by disrupting power, fuel and aid.

    In the most recent development, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin flew to Turkey this week for talks on the situation in Syria.

    Here’s a look at what various foreign powers and groups embroiled in the Syria conflict stand to gain or lose:

    WHAT TURKEY WANTS

    Turkey sees the Kurdish forces along its border with Syria as a threat and has launched three major military incursions since 2016, taking control of large swaths of territory.

    Erdogan hopes to relocate many of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to northern Syria and has begun building housing units there. The plan could address growing anti-refugee sentiment in Turkey and bolster Erdogan’s support ahead of next year’s elections, while diluting historically Kurdish-majority areas by resettling non-Kurdish Syrian refugees there.

    Erdogan has also touted plans to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) security corridor in areas currently under Kurdish control. A planned Turkish invasion earlier this year was halted amid opposition by the U.S. and Russia.

    THE KURDISH RESPONSE

    Kurdish groups are pressing the U.S. and Russia, both of which have military posts in northern Syria, to once again prevent Turkey from carrying out its threats.

    The Kurds are worried that West will stand aside this time to appease Ankara in exchange for approval of Sweden and Finland joining NATO.

    “This silence toward Turkey’s brutality will encourage Turkey to carry out a ground operation,” said Badran Jia Kurd, deputy co-chair of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

    Kurdish groups, which fought against the Islamic State group alongside a U.S.-led coalition and now guard thousands of captured IS fighters and family members, warn that a Turkish escalation would threaten efforts to stamp out the extremist group.

    In recent weeks, officials from the U.S. and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said they had stopped or scaled back joint patrols against IS because of the airstrikes, although patrols have since resumed.

    THE ROLE OF THE SYRIAN INSURGENTS

    The so-called Syrian National Army, a coalition of Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups with tens of thousands of fighters, would likely provide foot soldiers for any future ground offensive. In previous incursions, including the 2018 offensive on the town of Afrin, the SNA was accused of committing atrocities against Kurds and displacing tens of thousands from their homes.

    Several officials from the SNA did not respond to calls and text messages by The Associated Press. One official who answered said they were ordered by Turkish authorities not to speak about plans for a new incursion.

    THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT’S STANCE?

    The Syrian government has opposed past Turkish incursions but also sees the SDF as a secessionist force and a Trojan horse for the U.S., which has imposed paralyzing sanctions on the government of Bashar Assad.

    Damascus and Ankara have recently been moving to improve relations after 11 years of tension triggered by Turkey’s backing of opposition fighters in Syria’s civil war. Damascus has kept relatively quiet about the killing of Syrian soldiers in the recent Turkish strikes.

    WILL THE UNITED STATES GET INVOLVED?

    The United States maintains a small military presence in northern Syria, where its strong backing of the SDF has infuriated Turkey.

    However, the U.S. at first said little publicly about the Turkish airstrikes, speaking more forcefully only after they hit dangerously close to U.S. troops and led to anti-IS patrols being temporarily halted. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last week voiced “strong opposition” to a new offensive.

    Asked if the U.S. had any assurances for Kurds worried that the U.S. might abandon them to coax a NATO deal out of Turkey, a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said only that there had been no changes to U.S. policy in the region.

    WILL RUSSIA BROKER A DEAL?

    Russia is the Syrian government’s closest ally. Its involvement in Syria’s conflict helped turn the tide in favor of Assad.

    Although Turkey and Russia support rival sides in the conflict, the two have coordinated closely in Syria’s north. In recent months, Russia has pushed for a reconciliation between Damascus and Ankara.

    Moscow has voiced concerns over Turkey’s recent military actions in northern Syria and has attempted to broker a deal. According to Lebanon-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV, the chief of Russian forces in Syria, Lt. Gen. Alexander Chaiko, recently suggested to SDF commander Mazloum Abdi that Syrian government forces should deploy in a security strip along the border with Turkey to avoid a Turkish incursion.

    IRAN’S INTERESTS

    Iran, a key ally of the Assad government, strongly opposed Turkish plans for a land offensive earlier this year but hasn’t commented publicly on the possible new incursion.

    Tehran also has a sizable Kurdish minority and has battled a low-level separatist insurgency for decades. Iran has seen sustained protests and a deadly crackdown by security forces since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, in the custody of the country’s morality police in mid- September.

    Iran has blamed much of the unrest on Kurdish opposition groups exiled in neighboring Iraq, charges those groups deny, and has carried out strikes against them. Another Turkish incursion into Syria could provide a model for a wider response if the unrest in Iran’s Kurdistan continues to escalate.

    ———

    Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Andrew Wilks in Istanbul and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.

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  • Hong Kong official warns lockdown protests hurt security

    Hong Kong official warns lockdown protests hurt security

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    HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s security minister on Wednesday warned that the city’s protests against China‘s anti-virus restrictions were a “rudiment of another color revolution” and urged residents not to participate in activities that might hurt national security.

    Chris Tang said some events on university campuses and the city’s streets had attempted to incite others to target China’s central government in the name of commemorating a deadly fire in the country’s far west last week.

    “This is not a coincidence but highly organized,” he told reporters at the legislature.

    Protests erupted in major mainland cities over the weekend after the blaze that killed at least 10 in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, prompted angry questions about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by COVID restrictions.

    Crowds angered by severe restrictions called for leader Xi Jinping to step down in the biggest show of public dissent in decades.

    Smaller protests also emerged at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, and Central over the past two days. The participants included mainland Chinese students and residents as well as locals. They held up white papers and chanted slogans such as “No PCR tests but freedom!” and “Oppose dictatorship, don’t be slaves!”

    The gatherings were the biggest in the city in more than a year under rules imposed by Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, which has a separate legal system from the mainland.

    Tang alleged that some active members of the widespread rallies in 2019 also took part in the latest Hong Kong events, noting some people planned the recent protests via social media platforms including some “anti-China” sites.

    “I have previously mentioned that we face national security risks. Some people are unwilling to give up and always want to endanger our national security and Hong Kong’s security. This is exactly the situation I am talking about,” he said.

    He said the city has to guard against these risks if residents do not want to return to what happened in 2019.

    The 2019 protests were sparked by a since-withdraw extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. Critics worried the suspects would disappear into China’s opaque and frequently abusive legal system. Opposition morphed into months of violent unrest in the city as the protesters’ demands widened to include universal suffrage and other democratic aspirations.

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  • UN urges Libya rivals to agree in road map to elections soon

    UN urges Libya rivals to agree in road map to elections soon

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    UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the U.N. political mission in Libya for a year and urged key institutions and parties in the divided north African country to agree on a road map to deliver presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

    The resolution adopted by the U.N.’s most powerful body urged “dialogue, compromise and constructive engagement” aimed at forming “a unified Libyan government able to govern across the country and representing the whole people of Libya.”

    Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich nation has been split between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

    The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections in December 2021 and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who led a transitional government in the capital, Tripoli, in the country’s west, to step down. In response, the country’s east-based parliament appointed a rival prime minister, Fathy Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.

    The resolution reaffirmed the Security Council’s “strong commitment to an inclusive Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process, facilitated by the United Nations and supported by the international community,” that leads to elections as soon as possible. It backs the resumption of efforts to resume intra-Libya talks to create conditions for elections.

    Gabon’s U.N. ambassador, Michel Xavier Biang, the current council president, said the three African nations on the council — Gabon, Kenya and Ghana — “have the sense of having contributed to an important milestone towards the stabilization of a major African state.”

    “Through this vote, we are sending a message to the Libyan people and that message is clear that the U.N. is standing by their side,” Biang said. “This is also a message to the Libyan authorities and all political stakeholders who have an opportunity to create a momentum that would lead to restoring hope in Libya.”

    The council welcomed the appointment of a new U.N. special envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily, after a nine-month search amid increasing chaos in Libya.

    Russia had refused to extend the mandate of the U.N. mission in Libya, known as UNSMIL, for more than three months until a new special representative was chosen. So UNSMIL’s 12-month extension until Oct. 31, 2023, was a vote of confidence for the former Senegalese minister and diplomat.

    Bathily told the council Monday he plans to follow up on commitments by Libya’s political rivals at the end of a meeting last week that reportedly include the need to hold elections and ensure that the country has a single executive power as soon as possible.

    He said he plans to talk to leaders of the east-based parliament, the House of Representatives, and west-based High Council of State in the coming weeks “to understand” the agreements announced at the end of their Oct. 21 meeting in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

    According to the Moroccan Press Agency and the North African Post, the speaker of the east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, and the head of the Supreme Council, Khaled al-Meshri, agreed to implement a mechanism on criteria for leadership positions agreed to at talks in Morocco in October 2020.

    Saleh was quoted as saying the rivals also agreed “to ensure that there is a single executive power in Libya as soon as possible” and to relaunch dialogue to achieve an agreement about the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections. The elections need to respect “a clear roadmap and legislation, on the basis of which the polls will be held,” he was quoted as saying at a press briefing after the meeting.

    The Security Council’s resolution underlined “the importance of an inclusive, comprehensive national dialogue and reconciliation process.”

    Council members expressed concern at the security situation in Libya, particularly recurring clashes between armed groups in the Tripoli region that have caused civilian casualties and damaged civilian infrastructure.

    They emphasized “that there can be no military solution in Libya” and called on all parties to refrain from violence.

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  • UK Treasury chief out as prime minister plans U-turn

    UK Treasury chief out as prime minister plans U-turn

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    LONDON — Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired her Treasury chief ahead of a hastily arranged news conference on Friday as she struggled to calm markets and hang on to her job following the release of a controversial economic plan.

    Kwasi Kwarteng’s departure comes after just over a month in the job — and three weeks after he announced a tax-cutting “mini budget” that sent the pound plunging to record lows against the dollar.

    Kwarteng tweeted his departure letter to Truss, saying “You have asked me to stand aside as your Chancellor. I have accepted.”

    He defended the government’s economic plan, saying the country faces an “incredibly difficult” situation and “following the status quo was not an option.”

    Truss is due to hold a news conference later Friday. She is under intense pressure to scrap some of the 43 billion pounds ($48 billion) in unfunded tax cuts that roiled financial markets and led the Bank of England to step in to prevent a wider economic crisis.

    Senior members of the Conservative Party were publicly advising the government to take action. The pound rose as much as 1.7% against the dollar on Thursday and bond markets stabilized amid expectations that Truss would revise the economic growth plan.

    Truss, a free-market libertarian, came to power last month pledging to cut taxes to spur growth. But her ability to deliver on that commitment is now in doubt.

    Analysts suggest the most likely change in her program would be to abandon a promise to halt her predecessor’s plan to increase corporation tax from 19% to 25%. That would reduce the bill for her program by about 18 billion pounds a year.

    James Athey, the investment director at abrdn, said that it now seemed certain that the government “is about to U-turn on its decision not to U-turn on its profligate tax-cutting policies.″ The rumors are calming markets, he said.

    “The risk now is that investors have forgotten that there are significantly more problems than just an ill-advised and ill-timed fiscal easing to deal with,″ he said. “Inflation is at multi-decade highs, government borrowing is huge as is the current account deficit. The housing market is likely to suffer a hammer blow from the jump in mortgage rates and the war in Ukraine rumbles on. We may well be through the worst of the volatility but I fear that the U.K. is nowhere near out of the woods.”

    Conservative lawmakers are agonizing over whether to try to oust their second leader this year. Truss was elected last month to replace Boris Johnson, who was forced out in July. Some reports suggest senior Conservatives are plotting to replace Truss with a joint ticket of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, her two closest rivals in the summer contest for leadership of the party, though it’s unclear how that could be achieved.

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  • Myanmar accuses rebels in east of shooting passenger plane

    Myanmar accuses rebels in east of shooting passenger plane

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    BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military government accused rebel forces in the eastern state of Kayah of firing at a passenger plane as it was preparing to land Friday, wounding a passenger who was hit by a bullet that penetrated the fuselage. Rebel groups denied the allegation.

    State television MRTV said the Myanmar National Airlines plane, carrying 63 passengers, was hit as it was about to land in Loikaw, the capital of the eastern state of Kayah, also known as Karenni.

    It said Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s ruling military council, said the shooting was carried out by “terrorists” belonging to the Karenni National Progressive Party, an ethnic minority militia battling the government, and their allies in the People’s Defense Force, an armed pro-democracy group.

    “I want to say that this kind of attack on the passenger plane is a war crime,” he told MRTV by phone. “People and organizations who want peace need to condemn this issue all round.”

    MRTV said the bullet entered the plane’s lower fuselage as it was flying at an altitude of 3,500 feet about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) north of the airport. It said the injured passenger was taken to a hospital.

    The state news agency released photos it said were of the bullet hole and the passenger being treated.

    Myanmar National Airlines’ office in Loikaw announced that all flights to the city were canceled indefinitely.

    Kayah state has experienced intense conflict between the military and local resistance groups since the army seized power last year, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

    The Feb. 1, 2021, takeover was met with peaceful nationwide protests, but after the army and police cracked down with lethal force on street demonstrators opposing military rule, thousands of civilians formed militia units as part of a People’s Defense Force to fight back.

    The PDF groups are allied with well-established armed ethnic minority groups such as the Karenni, the Karen and the Kachin which have been fighting the central government for more than half a century, seeking greater autonomy in border regions.

    Khu Daniel, a leader of the Karenni National Progressive Party, denied the government’s accusation and said his party had not ordered its armed wing, the Karenni Army, to shoot at civilians or passenger planes.

    “The military always blames other organizations for the shootings. Our armed wing didn’t shoot the plane this morning,” he told The Associated Press.

    Government spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said it has been providing security around the airport and accused the KNPP and PDF of creating chaos in Loikaw by firing artillery into the city and the area near the airport.

    Since the military seized power, there have been frequent clashes in Kayah between the army and local anti-government guerrillas near a base belonging to the government’s 54th Light Infantry Battalion, located south of the airport. State-run media reported last Christmas that the KNPP and PDF attacked a Myanmar National Airlines passenger plane with four 107mm rockets, which exploded about 2,000 meters (1.2 miles) east of the airport, injuring no one.

    The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, another ethnic rebel group, earlier advised against traveling on Myanmar National Airlines because it is state-owned, so its revenues go to the military, and the army uses it to supply its forces.

    The information officer of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, who spoke on condition of anonymity to safeguard his personal security, called the government’s allegation about Friday’s shooting “nothing more than defamatory propaganda against the revolutionary forces by the Military Council.”

    “The runway and the area of the airfield are surrounded by infantry battalions and high security areas. So to say that PDFs attacked the plane is only an accusation,” he said.

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