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At least 65 people were nabbed for aerial firing on New Year’s night in Karachi as 30 people got injured from stray bullets with the majority of the incidents taking place in the district central, Geo News reported Monday. According to hospital sources, women and kids also received bullet injuries on Sunday night. Meanwhile, most of the wounded were transferred to public hospitals including the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medical aid. A day earlier, Additional Inspector General Karachi Khadim Hussain Rind had banned aerial firing and warned the netizens that charges of attempted murder would be added to the first information reports filed against the violators. The firing incidents were reported in North Nazimabad, Liaquatabad C-I Area, Rizvia Society, Hussainabad, Bahadurabad, Shah Faisal Colony, Keamari, Native Jetty Bridge, Lyari, Ranchorr Line, Clifton Baldia Town, North Karachi, Sea View, Korangi, Dalmia, Gulshan-e-Iqbal 13-D, Lines Area, Mehmoodabad, PIB Colony, and Malir. A video of a woman firing a gun at a Malir farmhouse last night is also doing rounds on social media. A child was injured by a stray bullet in Korangi No 1 while four suspects were arrested in Keamari, Korangi and PIB Colony. Four people were injured in Lyari Daryabad, Ranchorr Line, Dalmia and Clifton and two others got wounded in the Gulshan’s 13-D area. 18 suspects were arrested from district central. On August 14, at least two people lost their lives while over 80 were wounded because of aerial firing in various areas of Karachi during the Independence Day celebrations this year. In view of New Year’s Eve, AIG Rind had also ordered Karachi traffic police chief DIG Iqbal Dara to arrest those driving recklessly or under the influence of alcohol, The News reported. Moreover, a ban had also been ordered on the carrying and display of weapons throughout the city, as well as directives for arresting those involved in conducting aerial firing. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1143771-karachi-police-arrest-65-violators-for-aerial-firing-on-new-year

Fierce ground fighting is ongoing in the centre of Khan Younis, reports Al Jazeera’s Wael Dahdouh, as Palestinians start 2024 sheltering from Israeli shelling. Israel says it will withdraw reservists from its Gaza ground invasion so troops can “gain strength” for future battles. The US army has attacked three Houthi boats in the Red Sea, killing at least 10 fighters. At least 21,822 people have been killed and 56,451 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October 7 attack in Israel stands at 1,139. Biden faces pressure to strike Houthis inside Yemen: Report The New York Times newspaper has reported that US President Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to directly strike the Houthi armed group in Yemen amid their continued Red Sea attacks. It said US military officials have prepared plans to strike missile and drone bases in Yemen, but the Biden administration is hesitant to use them, as it remains concerned the strikes could inadvertently benefit Iran, while also jeopardising a delicate truce between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Retired Fifth Fleet commander Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan warned in the report that if the US did not respond to the Houthi threat it would invite more attacks as enemy groups start believing that “attacking a US ship carries a low risk of retaliation”. Click here to share on social media Qassam Brigades claims staging deadly ambush against Israeli troops in Bureij Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, has said its fighters had ambushed Israel’s troops in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, claiming to have killed unidentified number of the occupation forces killed and injured. Click here to share on social media Advertisement AD 27m ago  (11:05 GMT) Three killed in Israel’s air attack on Maghazi refugee camp At least three people have been killed and several others injured after Israel’s air attack on a residential building in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera’s team on the ground. Click here to share on social media Iran calls on Security Council to act against Israel’s attacks on Syria Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called on the UN Security Council to take action after Israel’s killing of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in Syria last week. “Through Iran’s representative office, we communicated with the UN secretary-general [Antonio Guterres] and called on the Security Council to commit to its duty of maintaining international peace and preventing regional peace from being compromised,” spokesman Nasser Kanani said in his weekly news conference. Kanani described the assassination of Razi Mousavi as a “blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and said both countries reserve the right to respond at a time of their choosing. Friendly fire killed 29 Israeli ground troops in Gaza: Army The Israeli army has confirmed that out of the 170 ground troops it says it has lost in Gaza since launching its land offensive in late October, a considerable 29 were killed in instances of friendly fire. It said in a report that two soldiers were killed by gunfire that was not intended to hit them, and nine were killed in accidents, including unintentional weapon discharges, being run over by armoured vehicles, and being hit by shrapnel from controlled demolitions. The military’s cited reasons behind the self-inflicted deaths are also interesting, and include the presence of a large number of forces operating in Gaza, communication issues between forces, and soldiers being exhausted and not paying attention to regulations. An Israeli soldier operates in the Gaza Strip [Handout/Israel army via Reuters] Click Israel claims killing of Hamas commander Adil Mismah The Israeli army has claimed to have killed Adil Mismah, a Hamas commander in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, saying he took part in the October 7 attack on southern Israel. The military also said in a statement on X that it struck Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City, claiming to have “located large amounts of weapons” there. It said a Palestinian group that it claimed attacked Israeli troops with mortar shells was destroyed, and a Hamas fighter launching rockets in Khan Younis was killed. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/1/israel-hamas-war-live-new-year-in-gaza-under-non-stop-israeli-bombardment

RAWALPINDI: In an intelligence-based operation (IBO), security forces have wiped out five terrorists in the Mir Ali area, North Waziristan, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a terrorist commander was also included in the slain militants who were “sent to hell”. It said security forces conducted the IBO on December 29, 2023, on the reported presence of terrorists. “During the conduct of the operation, after intense fire exchange, five terrorists, including Terrorist Commander Rahzaib aka Khuray, were sent to hell. The killed terrorists remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as extortion and target killings of innocent civilians. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered during the operation,” the ISPR said. The ISPR said locals of the area appreciated the operation, adding that a sanitisation operation was being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. “The security forces are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” said the statement. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1143162-security-forces-kill-five-terrorists-in-mir-ali-ibo-ispr

At least 14 people, including two children, have been killed and 108 injured following a Ukrainian attack on the centre of the Russian provincial capital of Belgorod, the Russian Emergencies Ministry has said. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Saturday that the attack on Belgorod, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine, had hit a residential area. In a Telegram post, he urged all residents to move to air raid shelters as sirens sounded. end of list Belgorod borders Ukraine’s Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, some of which were hit by Russian air raids on Ukraine on Friday, in what was one of the deadliest attacks since the war began in February 2022. The death toll has risen to 39 from those attacks. Belgorod is about 600km (373 miles) from the Russian capital, Moscow, and has been a front-line region, serving as a vital base for the Kremlin’s armed forces to launch attacks towards Ukraine. Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement the attack would “not go unpunished”. The ministry said its anti-aircraft units had destroyed 13 Ukrainian rockets over the Belgorod region on Friday. And Russian forces shot down 32 Ukrainian drones across the country, Moscow officials said earlier on Saturday. Drones were seen in the skies over Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol, and Kursk regions, the ministry said in a statement. All the drones had been destroyed by air defences, it added. Advertisement AD Cities across western Russia have come under regular attack from drones since May, with Russian officials blaming Kyiv. Ukrainian officials never acknowledge responsibility for attacks on Russian territory or the Crimean Peninsula. However, larger aerial attacks against Russia have previously followed heavy assaults on Ukrainian cities. Day of mourning Russian drone attacks against Ukraine continued on Saturday, with the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reporting that 10 Iranian-made Shahed drones had been shot down across the Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, and Mykolaiv regions. On Friday, Moscow’s forces launched more than 100 missiles and dozens of drones across Ukraine, an onslaught described by one air force official as the biggest aerial barrage of the war. The attack damaged a maternity hospital, apartment blocks, and schools, with rescuers continuing to search through the rubble. Advertisement AD “Relief operations in the aftermath of yesterday’s Russian attack continue. Almost 120 cities and villages have been affected, with hundreds of civilian objects damaged,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X on Saturday. “Russian attack affected a total of 159 people. As of now, unfortunately, there are 39 fatalities … Those injured have received all the necessary assistance,” he added. January 1 will be declared a day of mourning in Kyiv, where at least 16 people were killed, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The United Nations Security Council criticised Russia for carrying out its massive air assault at a meeting on Friday. But Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said Moscow had “exclusively only targeted military infrastructure in Ukraine”. Fighting along the front line is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 1,000km (620-mile) line of contact. Russia’s continuing aerial attacks have also generated concern among Ukraine’s neighbours. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/30/russia-says-two-children-killed-in-ukrainian-strike-on-belgorod

At least 165 Palestinians have been killed and 250 injured in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. At least 14 people have been detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in overnight raids, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement. South Africa has initiated war crimes proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying operations in Gaza amount to “genocide”. In Gaza, at least 21,672 people have been killed and 56.165 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139. 100,000 people moved into Rafah in last few days: UN The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said it estimates that at least 100,000 people have moved into Rafah, the city located as far south in the Gaza Strip in the last few days. This took place as Israeli shelling and air strikes intensified in and around Khan Younis and elsewhere. Monitor says 19 fighters killed in Syria strikes The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said “19 pro-Iranian fighters, including four Syrians, and six Iraqis, were killed and more than 18 were wounded” in at least nine airstrikes overnight near the Iraqi border. The strikes were “likely” launched by Israel the monitor said. The Syrian defense ministry said Israel struck the city of Aleppo in separate strikes today. Click here to share on social media ‘End the occupation’: Solution is not just more aid – NGO The CEO of ANERA – the American Near East Refugee Aid – says the war in Gaza does not just require more work to get aid in but more importantly a ceasefire and end of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. ANERA is an NGO that helps refugees and vulnerable communities in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. Israel says struck Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon Israel’s military says it struck three “terrorist squads” in southern Lebanon as well as Hezbollah’s “operational infrastructure”. Hezbollah claimed eight attacks on Israel on Saturday as cross-border fighting continues. The attacks follow a series of attacks by Hezbollah on Israeli posts close to the border. The border area between Lebanon and Israel has seen escalating exchanges of fire since the Israeli-Gaza war began on October 7. The recent rise in violence between Israel and Hezbollah has been largely confined to the border area, although Israel has conducted limited air raids deeper into Lebanese territory. Click Israel targets Syria’s Aleppo with air raids Israeli warplanes targeted sites in the northeastern Syrian city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian defence ministry. “Israel carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting a number of points south of the city of Aleppo,” a statement said. The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the attack. Last week, an Israeli air raid outside the Syrian capital Damascus killed a senior adviser in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The attacks come amid fears Israel’s war on Gaza could expand into a wider regional conflict, pulling in Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Displaced Palestinians shelter in tents in Rafah Volunteers build tents at a displacement camp [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency] Displaced Palestinians set up shelters after leaving their homes because of Israeli attacks that continue in Rafah [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency] Palestinian children shelter at a displacement camp in Gaza [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency] Click here to share on social media Qassam targets Israeli soldiers and military vehicles Hamas’s armed wing says its fighters targeted: Two Israeli military jeeps and the soldiers manning the vehicles in Sheikh Ijlin neighbourhood in southern Gaza City. A group of soldiers and military vehicles with mortar shells east of the town of Khuza’a in the southern Gaza Strip. Eight Israeli tanks with Yasin-105 shells in the Gaza Old City districts of Tuffah and Daraj. A group of soldiers and military vehicles with mortar shells east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/30/israel-hamas-war-live-un-aid-chief-decries-israeli-attack-on-relief-convoy

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan conducted a successful test flight of the multi-launch rocket Fatah-II, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Wednesday. The Fatah-II weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics, a sophisticated navigation system, and a unique flight trajectory. It is capable of engaging targets with high precision up to a range of 400 kilometres, added the military’s media wing. The test was witnessed by senior officers from tri-services and dedicated scientists and engineers. President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir congratulated participating troops and scientists on the successful conduct of flight test. The flight test of the indigenously developed Fatah-I guided multi-launch rocket system was conducted on August 24, 2021, making Pakistan capable of delivering a conventional warhead. The multi-launch rocket system gave the Pakistan Army capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory, according to the ISPR. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1142249-pakistan-conducted-successful-test-flight-of-fatah-ii-ispr

Russia has launched the biggest air attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian military told CNN, with an unprecedented number of drones and missiles fired at targets across the country, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more. The wave of attacks began overnight into Friday and struck nationwide, with blasts reported in the capital Kyiv, as well as at a maternity hospital in the central city of Dnipro, the eastern city of Kharkiv, the southeastern port of Odesa, and the western city of Lviv, far from the frontlines. “It’s been a long time since we have seen so many enemy targets on our monitors in all regions and all directions,” Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, told national television. “Everything was being fired.” Russia used 158 drones and missiles, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, cruise missiles and Shahed drones, to strike targets in Kyiv, the east, south and west of the country, Ukraine’s air force said. “Today the enemy has struck a powerful blow. There are downed targets, however unfortunately there are also casualties,” Ihnat added. At least one person was killed and 21 injured in Kyiv after Russia targeted a metro station and residential buildings. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least three people are trapped under the rubble of a damaged warehouse in Shevchenkivskyi district. Kharkiv was hit by a “massive attack,” Ukrainian Prime Minster Denys Shmyhal said, with more than 20 strikes reported in the region, including on a hospital. A 35-year-old man was killed and 11 people were injured, according to regional military administration head Oleh Syniehubov. At least one woman was killed and 10 people were injured in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, the regional military administration head Yurif Malashko said on Telegram. Emergency workers are still working to see if people are trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Ukraine’s hopes for victory fade in the face of waning Western support and Putin’s relentless war machine Further south, a school building was hit in Odesa, injuring seven people, including a child. At least one person was killed in the region, according to Ukraine’s health ministry. The massive overnight assault comes just days after Ukraine struck a Russian Navy landing ship in Crimea on Tuesday, causing severe damage to the vessel in another major blow to Moscow’s Black Sea fleet. But the onslaught also came shortly after Ukraine received the last package of military aid from the United States until Congress approves the Biden administration’s funding request. Nearly two years since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky is facing a largely-stalled counteroffensive while Western aid has begun to dry up. The head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, called for support as his country battles Russian airstrikes. “A massive terrorist attack, rockets are flying at our cities again, and civilians are being targeted,” Yermak said in a Telegram post on Friday. “Ukraine needs support. We will be even stronger, we are doing everything to strengthen our air shield. But the world needs to see that we need more support and strength to stop this terror.” Prime Minister Shmyhal said the attacks “targeted social and critical infrastructure,” but praised the work of Ukraine’s air force. “Ukrainian air defense forces have once again demonstrated a high level of professionalism. Most of the air targets were shot down. We thank the soldiers for saving lives.” Firefighters respond after a building was damaged following a Russian attack in Kyiv on December 29, 2023. Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP Bombers in the air The Ukrainian Air Force said it recorded “the departure of 9 Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the ‘Olenya’ airfield in the Murmansk region of Russia.” The Tu-95 bomber is a mainstay of Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine, able to launch cruise missiles against its neighbor out of the range of most air-defense systems. In Kyiv, officials warned residents to take shelter as a “UAV threat” was detected in the area, a reference to drones. Klitschko said at least seven people had been hospitalized following the attacks. Trains were halted as a building was damaged at Lukianivska subway station in central Kyiv, which is also operating as a shelter, Klitschko added. Many were wounded and a search for victims is underway after a warehouse caught fire in the Podilskyi district of the capital region, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, said in a Telegram post. Smoke rises from a building damaged in Russia’s missile attack in Kyiv, December 29, 2023. Efrem Lukatsky/AP In the northeastern city of Sumy, numerous explosions were heard on Thursday evening local time following Russian shelling “of the border territories and settlements,” the administration in the area reported. In Lviv, which borders Poland, explosions were recorded as air defenses intercepted Russian drones, Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration said early Friday. A residential building was hit and caught fire, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram Friday. Friday’s widespread strikes followed Russia’s launch of 53 attacks across eastern Ukraine on Thursday, according to a Telegram post from the Ukrainian General Staff. Russia launched dozens of airstrikes, wounding civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, the post said. Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/29/europe/ukraine-russia-airstrikes-intl-hnk/index.html

At least 35 people have been killed in Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps following Israeli bombings in central Gaza. An Israeli attack has hit a residential building near the Kuwaiti hospital in southern Gaza, killing at least 20. Israeli soldiers have fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army, according to Thomas White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza. Israel’s security forces say they have “neutralised” a man who they say stabbed two people in an attack at the Mazmoria checkpoint, south of occupied East Jerusalem. In Gaza, at least 21,320 people have been killed and 55,603 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139. Hapag Lloyd will continue to divert vessels due to recent Red Sea attacks: Report A spokesperson for the German container shipping company, Hapag Lloyd, has informed Reuters news agency that they will continue to divert their vessels around the Suez Canal for security reasons. A recent spate of attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on vessels in the Red Sea has resulted in a number of shipping companies opting for alternative routes. Hapag Lloyd would make another security assessment on January 2, the spokesperson said. Click here to share on social media Israel claims destruction of tunnel shafts, weapons in southern Gaza The Israeli army has posted an update on X regarding its “Operation Oz and Nir”, which was launched in late December and named after the Nir Oz kibbutz, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7. The statement said the forces involved in the operation had “eliminated terrorists, located dozens of tunnel shafts and anti-tank launching positions, as well as many weapons” in the south of the Gaza Strip. Click here to share on social media Skunk water sprayed at worshippers near Al-Aqsa Mosque Laura Khan Reporting from occupied East Jersalem There has been a skunk water truck which has been spraying water towards Palestinians and Muslim worshippers. This produces an awful smell, which has been drifting in the air. People have also been attacked with tear gas grenades. The reason why there are these confrontations is that, since October 7, there have been vast restrictions on Muslims entering the place they revere as the third holiest place in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The Israelis are only allowing people over 45 years old, but even then, they can restrict them. We have only seen about 3,00 to 4,000 worshippers in the past two weeks. Usually, you’d have between 50,000 and 60,000 people praying in the mosque. So there’s been real tension here. Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyard on December 15, 2023 [Mohammad Hamad/Anadolu Agency] Click Detainee recounts ‘barbaric’ arrests in Deir Abu Mesha’al From the village of Deir Abu Mesha’al near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces detained more than 30 Palestinians overnight, Mohammed Wajeeh, 21, recounts his experience to Al Jazeera. “They were very barbaric in their intervention. [After forcing open the door to the house,] they searched everything. They destroyed the kitchen. They went upstairs and downstairs, [searched] all the closets. They did not leave anything,” Wajeeh said. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said Israeli forces went door to door arresting Palestinians. They blindfolded them, tied their hands and took them to an open building on the street where they were detained for hours. Wajeeh said they interrogated him about the number of people at his home and seized all their phones. “They said some provoking words, and then they just threw me in the middle of nowhere, and it was very cold, and they asked me to stay there,” he said. Ibrahim said that according to Palestinians, the “main goal of these arrests is to instill fear” in the younger generation. “[It’s] to tell them that if anyone wants to oppose Israel’s occupation, then the result will be arrests and intimidation,” she said. Click here to share on social media Key events on day 84 of the war on Gaza It’s day 84 of the war, and here is where things stand: Gaza’s Ministry of Health has announced 20 patients will be allowed to travel outside the besieged enclave via the Rafah crossing for emergency treatment in Egypt. An Israeli strike has hit a residential building near the Kuwait Specialty Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, killing at least 20 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that not enough aid is entering the Gaza Strip, leaving 40 percent of its population “at risk of famine”. A delegation from Hamas is to visit Cairo to discuss Egypt’s ceasefire plan. Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip [Arafat Barbakh/Reuters] Click here to share on social medi Galaxy Maritime ‘encouraged’ by reports of imminent release of crew Galaxy Maritime, the owner of the bulk carrier Galaxy Leader, which was hijacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on November 19, says it is encouraged by reports from the Philippines that the release of 17 of its seafarers is imminent. The 25-member crew is from Bulgaria, Mexico, Romania, Ukraine and the Philippines. The company also said it is committed to meeting all the captive seafarers’ repatriation expenses. The Houthis have upended shipping in the Red Sea by using drone and missile attacks and taking control of vessels to show their support for Palestinians in Israel’s war on Gaza. Yemen’s Houthi rebels use a helicopter to’ take over the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea off Hodeidah on November 19, 2023 [Houthi Movement via Getty Images] Click Residents of Sderot to remain in hotels during January: Report The Israeli city of Sderot, which is located near the Gaza Strip, is expected to extend its evacuation protocol until the end of January. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the government is set to approve the extension, allowing residents to stay in hotels or find alternative housing. Many residents of Sderot

China’s embassy in Myanmar has asked its citizens to leave a border district in Myanmar as soon as possible, citing security risks. The call on Thursday to evacuate the Laukkai area in the Kokang region, along the countries’ shared border, came as Myanmar’s military government has been battling ethnic minority rebel groups in what has become its biggest challenge since it seized power in a 2021 coup. end of list Clashes have raged since October across Myanmar’s northern Shan State after the Arakan Army (AA), the Mandarin-speaking Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched Operation 1027, an offensive against the military. The rebel groups have seized several towns and border hubs vital for trade with China. Myanmar has witnessed its most significant escalation in hostilities across the country since the start of Operation 1027. “The conflicts in Laukkai district of Kokang, northern Myanmar continue, and safety risks have escalated for people stranded there,” the embassy said on Thursday on its WeChat account. “The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar once again reminds Chinese citizens in Laukkai district to evacuate as soon as possible.” The MNDAA has vowed to recapture Laukkai town, which is notorious for gambling, transnational human trafficking and online scams. Advertisement AD This month, Beijing said it had mediated talks between the military and the three armed groups and reached an agreement for a “temporary ceasefire”. China has previously called for an immediate ceasefire in Myanmar’s restive north, where a billion-dollar rail line is planned under Beijing’s $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative. In November, the rebel groups seized the border town of Chinshwehaw, a key conduit for the $1.8bn in annual trade between China and Myanmar. Analysts say Beijing maintains ties with ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar, some of whom share close ethnic and cultural ties with China and use Chinese currency and phone networks in the territory they control. Beijing is also a major arms supplier and ally of the military, but ties have been strained in recent months over the military’s failure to crack down on online scam compounds in Myanmar that Beijing says target Chinese citizens. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/28/china-asks-citizens-to-evacuate-myanmar-border-area-over-security-risks