YANGON: A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group was battling junta troops in a ruby and gem-mining hub on Friday, the group and residents told AFP, with reports of civilian casualties in shelling and air strikes.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched attacks on junta troops earlier this week in Mandalay region and neighboring Shan state, shattering a ceasefire brokered by China in January.
Its fighters were inside Mogok, a town surrounded by hills rich with rubies, sapphires, spinel, aquamarine and other semi-precious stones, General Tar Bhone Kyaw told AFP, without giving details.
AFP was unable to reach a junta spokesman for comment.
Mogok residents told AFP the town had been hit by artillery shelling and air strikes by military planes since fighting in the area started on Tuesday.
“As far as I know, four people including two women were killed yesterday because of artillery shelling,” one 57-year-old Mogok resident, who did not want to give his name, told AFP.
He said he and his family were sheltering elsewhere after the roof of their home had been damaged in an air strike.
“We have no experience like this. It’s the first ever serious fighting in Mogok town.”
Myanmar produces much of the world’s rubies, and top quality stones from Mogok — known as “pigeon’s blood” for their deep red color — can fetch more per carat than diamonds.
The industry is notoriously opaque, with high-value rubies often smuggled over the border into Thailand or China to be sold directly to private buyers or made into jewelry.
For decades Myanmar’s junta and its opponents have taxed local miners for income.
Fighting was ongoing in Kyaukme town in neighboring Shan state, a local rescue worker told AFP on Friday.
At least 10 civilians had been killed and more than 20 wounded there since clashes broke out on Tuesday, he said.
The fighting has breached the China-brokered ceasefire that earlier this year ended weeks of fighting in Shan state between the military and the TNLA and two other allied ethnic armed groups.
In a surprise October offensive the alliance seized swathes of territory and several lucrative trade crossings with China, dealing the junta its biggest blow since it seized power.
Myanmar ethnic fighters battle junta in ruby mining hub
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Myanmar ethnic fighters battle junta in ruby mining hub
About 30 people are feared dead after a migrant boat capsized off Crete
- Authorities have arrested two Sudanese men, ages 25 and 19, as the suspected traffickers
ATHENS, Greece: About 30 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Greek island of Crete, Greek authorities and the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday.
The boat, carrying about 50 migrants, capsized 20 nautical miles off the port of Kali Limenes, the southernmost point on Crete, on Saturday. Three men were found dead that day and a woman’s body was found floating at sea on Sunday.
No other survivors or victims have been found since. Passing ships are continuing to search the waters, a coast guard spokesperson told The Associated Press Monday.
The capsized boat had left Tobruk, Libya on Thursday, according to survivors. There were high winds in the area Saturday.
Authorities have arrested two Sudanese men, ages 25 and 19, as the suspected traffickers.
“Just two months into 2026, at least 606 migrants have already been reported dead or missing along the Mediterranean route, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. This marks the deadliest start to a year in the Mediterranean since IOM began recording such data in 2014,” the UN office said in a statement Monday.
“IOM warns that trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the Central Mediterranean route, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to severe abuse and protection risks,” the statement continues.
“Stronger international cooperation and protection-centered responses are key to tackling these criminal networks and expanding safe and regular pathways to reduce risks and save lives,” it added.
