Rebels attacked in Myanmar

Myanmar’s military rulers have launched an offensive against separatist guerrillas, attacking villages and forcing thousands to flee in an attempt to quash a five-decade insurgency by Karen ethnic rebels, a rights group said Sunday.

The Karen, one of Myanmar’s eight major ethnic groups, have been fighting for independence for more than 50 years. The rebels, who live in the east, began peace talks with the ruling junta in 2003 and reached a provisional truce, but sporadic fighting has continued.

Hundreds of government troops attacked at least six villages and townships in recent weeks, terrorizing villagers and destroying scores of homes, said the Free Burma Rangers, an advocacy group that works inside impoverished Myanmar.

Hundreds of thousands have died in a conflict largely hidden from the international spotlight, according to some experts’ estimates.

MILWAUKEE

Missing children case refocused

Police said Sunday the search for two boys who disappeared a week ago was turned into a criminal investigation.

Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz wouldn’t reveal what prompted the department to treat the case differently, saying it would compromise the investigation.

Quadrevion Henning, 12, and Purvis Virginia Parker, 11, were last seen around 3:30 p.m. March 19, when they asked Henning’s grandfather whether they could play basketball at a nearby park.

Investigators had no reason to believe the boys were outside of Milwaukee, Schwartz said. Family members have said they suspect the boys were taken by someone, and the FBI has brought in child abduction specialists to help.

GENERAL BRAVO, Mexico

Seven found shot near border

The bodies of six men – blindfolded, handcuffed and shot to death – were found Sunday packed inside a pickup on the side of a highway leading to the Texas border.

Police found the men in General Bravo, a town about 55 miles from Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, said Camerino Ortiz, a police spokesman.

Investigators recovered more than 50 bullet casings near the abandoned pickup. There were no arrests in the case, and why the men were slain remained a mystery.

Also Sunday, police found the corpse of another shooting victim inside a car on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, about 100 miles northwest of where the six bodies were found.

Compiled from wire reports