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From Our Own Correspondent: Caught in the crossfire along the Thai-Myanmar border

27/05/2021

Caught in the crossfire along the Thai-Myanmar border

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Caught in the crossfire along the Thai-Myanmar border

Villagers suffer as the Burmese military crack down; Belarus, Spain, Chad and Chile

Ethnic minority villages suffer as Myanmar's military hunts down rebels; a forced landing in Minsk; Spain and Morocco at odds in Ceuta; Chad's elite; Chile's pensions provocateur.

Laura Bicker reports from a remote corner of Thailand’s border with Myanmar, where villagers’ lives are being disrupted as the Burmese military pursues insurgent groups. Since the generals' takeover in February, hundreds of people have died in Myanmar's cities after mass protests. In rural areas, several rebel militias – most formed by ethnic minorities – which have been resisting the military for decades are renewing their fight. 
Last weekend the diversion of a Ryanair flight to Minsk in Belarus  – though it was meant to be going to Lithuania – caused outrage. After an alleged bomb threat, the plane had to land straight away. But it seems the real target on board was a young critic of the Belarusian government. James Landale analyses the shock felt across Europe as other countries judge how to respond.
After Idriss Deby, Chad's longtime head of state, was reportedly killed in battle in April, many hoped his death might offer a chance to hold free and fair elections. Instead Mr Déby’s son, a general, now rules the country. Activists fear that their window for change might soon slam shut. In N'Djamena, Mayeni Jones found those in power don’t always share the priorities of ordinary Chadians.
In recent days, several thousand migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish city of Ceuta. It's happened before but the numbers this time were unprecedented. Guy Hedgecoe reflects on the backdrop to this incident and the complex history binding Spain and Morocco. 
As Chileans’ household budgets have grown tighter, they’ve also grown more worried about their country’s once-emblematic pension system.  Now a new breed of politician is seizing the limelight by suggesting voters should just go ahead and raid the kitty, says Jane Chambers in Santiago.
Producer: Polly Hope

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