Uzbekistan

Muslim rebels vow to establish Islamic state

Rebels cherishing the prospect of a strict Islamic state were firmly in control Wednesday of the border town of Korasuv, throwing up a new challenge to the government as it tried to prove to skeptical diplomats that its troops didn’t fire on innocent civilians.

“We will be building an Islamic state here in accordance with the Quran,” rebel leader Bakhtiyor Rakhimov told The Associated Press in Korasuv, a town of 20,000. “People are tired of slavery.”

The government of President Islam Karimov dismissed those claims as “nonsense,” but Rakhimov said he has 5,000 followers ready to fight any troops that try to crush the rebellion.

There was no sign of Uzbek officials in Korasuv on Wednesday. The officials apparently fled the town when rioters attacked police and government offices Saturday, a day after the violent confrontation in the nearby city of Andijan.

The rebels in Korasuv did not appear to be armed. “We don’t have weapons, but if they come and attack us we will fight even with knives,” Rakhimov said.

Gaza Strip

First airstrike launched since February truce

A sharp flare-up of violence Wednesday, including two Palestinian militants killed, an Israeli airstrike against Hamas and the shelling of Jewish settlements, threatened to collapse a fragile truce and derail efforts to restart Mideast peace talks.

Both Israel and Hamas warned of punishing responses that could degenerate into a resumption of attacks, counterattacks, invasions and bombings.

Such violence has been rare since the cease-fire, declared at a Feb. 8 summit between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The trouble began just after midnight with Israeli soldiers shooting and killing a 22-year-old Hamas militant on the Gaza-Egypt border. The Israeli military said Palestinians fired rifles and anti-tank grenades at soldiers, who returned the fire.

In apparent retaliation, Palestinians launched more than 20 mortar shells at Jewish settlements across from the refugee camp, slightly wounding an Israeli.

For the first time since the truce was declared, Israeli helicopters flew into Palestinian territory and fired a missile, saying the target was “a terrorist cell about to launch further mortars.”

Bangladesh

Ferry with about 250 passengers capsizes

Rescuers postponed a search Wednesday for dozens of people reported missing after a ferry carrying about 250 capsized during a storm in Bangladesh, killing at least two people.

Strong currents and winds hit the overcrowded double-deck ferry ML Raipura on Tuesday as it neared a terminal on the Padma River in central Manikganj district, 25 miles northwest of the capital, Dhaka.

The body of a man was found in the river Wednesday, bringing the known death toll to two, said local police officer Abu Bakr Siddiqui. A child’s body was found Tuesday. At least 50 people swam to shore.

By late Wednesday, strong currents and the fall of darkness had disrupted efforts to search the river and shoals for about 200 others reported missing, said Mahbubur Rashid, a naval officer overseeing the rescue operation.

“We will resume at daybreak,” Rashid said.