Maoist rebels killed 22 Indian security forces and injured 30 others in a central Indian state, police said Sunday, making it the deadliest ambush of its kind in four years.

The forces were ambushed Saturday while returning from a search operation near a forest in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, a Maoist rebel stronghold, the state police's additional director-general Ashok Juneja told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"So far it is confirmed that 22 security personnel were killed," Juneja said. "The search operation is still underway and the exact figure will be known ... late Sunday evening."

The injured personnel were admitted to two government-run hospitals in Bijapur and Chhattisgarh's capital city Raipur. More than a dozen others remained missing, he said, adding that an unknown number of Maoists were also killed in the encounter.

Juneja said the rebels looted weapons, ammunition, uniforms and shoes from the security forces who were killed./agencies

The death toll could rise further, a senior police officer in Bijapur district told AFP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that the "sacrifices of the brave martyrs will never be forgotten", while Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on Twitter that India would "continue our fight against these enemies of peace & progress".

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel wrote on Facebook Sunday that Shah had assured him of "all the necessary help" from the national government against the militants.

The toll was the worst for Indian security forces battling the far-left guerillas since 2017, when 25 police commandos were killed in a previous attack.

French oil and gas group Total Sunday said it would not halt gas production in coup-hit Myanmar, despite growing calls for foreign companies to sever ties with the junta as it escalates a brutal crackdown on dissent.

Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said the group had several reasons to keep its offshore Yadana site going, saying they had a duty to stay the course because the gas it produces supplies electricity to millions in Yangon as well as western Thailand.

The energy giant has come under pressure from rights groups and Myanmar’s parallel civilian government to review its operations amid allegations its payments on taxes were funding the military-controlled state.

It was concerned staff there could be exposed to forced labor under the junta if it did decide to stop production in protest at violence in Myanmar, Pouyanne said, and the group also did not want to cut off a major source of energy.

"Can a company like Total decide to cut off the electricity supply to millions of people – and in so doing, disrupt the operation of hospitals, businesses?" he was cited by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche.

Pouyanne said he was "outraged by the repression" in Myanmar but would refuse to "act to the detriment of our local employees and the Burmese population who are already suffering so much."

Located off Myanmar’s southwest coast in the Gulf of Martaban, the Yadana fields produce gas for delivery to power plants in Thailand. They also supply Myanmar’s domestic market, via an offshore pipeline built and operated by state energy firm Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

Pouyanne said Total had considered whether it should place payments on taxes owed to the state in Myanmar in an escrow account, as suggested by some campaigners, but said this could put local managers at odds with the law.

Total paid around $230 million to the Myanmar authorities in 2019 and $176 million in 2020 in the form of taxes and "production rights," according to the company’s own financial statements.

Total had so far not paid any of the $4 million in monthly taxes it usually pays to the military government, Pouyanne was cited by Reuters as saying, “for the simple reason that the banking system no longer functions.”

He added that Total would donate the equivalent of the taxes the group will have to pay to the Myanmar government to associations working towards human rights in the country.

Total has halted new projects and drilling in Myanmar in response to the crisis, and Pouyanne said the group was “appalled by the repressive action taking place.”

Hundreds have been killed in demonstrations since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, prompting widespread calls for foreign companies to halt operations that benefit the junta.

Italy's Benetton and Sweden's H&M have suspended all new orders from the country and French energy giant EDF suspended its activities, including a $1.5-billion project to build a hydroelectric dam.

Demonstrations against the coup – supported by a widespread strike by civil servants – have crippled Myanmar's economy, leaving gas exports as one of the junta's main sources of revenue./DS

Footage of the Turkish Coast Guard intervening in an attempt by the Greek Coast Guard to push back irregular migrants has been recorded by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The April 2 footage captured by the National Defense Ministry shows Greek Coast Guard boats forcing some 20-25 asylum-seekers in inflatable boats north of the Greek island of Rhodes into Turkish territorial waters, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

It then shows Turkish Coast Guard units coming to the aid of the asylum-seekers and bringing them ashore.

Turkey has accused Greece of large-scale pushbacks and summary deportations without access to asylum procedures, which is a violation of international law. It also accuses the European Union of turning a blind eye to what it says is a blatant abuse of human rights.

Pushbacks are considered contrary to international refugee protection agreements that say people shouldn't be expelled or returned to a country where their life or safety might be in danger due to their race, religion, nationality or membership of a social or political group.

On March 3, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that Greece's practice of pushing irregular migrants back to Turkey amounts to a clear violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights and European Union law.

Most recently, at least three people died and one more was missing after the Greek Coast Guard dumped a group of asylum-seekers into the Aegean Sea, Turkish authorities said last month./agencies

Valencia stopped playing its Spanish league game at Cádiz on Sunday and walked off the field after one of its players said he was racially insulted by an opponent.

Valencia left the field after Mouctar Diakhaby accused Cádiz defender Juan Cala of insulting him. Valencia said in a statement the team decided to return after a request by Diakhaby, who is Black.

"The team have held a meeting and decided to continue the game, in order to fight for the honor of the club, but denounce racism of any kind,” it said in its Twitter account in English. "The player, who had received a racial insult, requested that his teammates return to the pitch.” Valencia said it offered its "complete backing" to Diakhaby. "WE SUPPORT YOU MOUCTAR,” it wrote.

The incident happened in the first half. The match was nearing the 30th minute – with the score 1-1 at the time – when Diakhaby and Cala clashed while going for the ball. An exchange of words appeared to upset French defender Diakhaby, and the two players shortly after got into an altercation near midfield, with their teammates having to break them apart. Diakhaby was immediately shown a yellow card for the altercation with Cala, who had tried to avoid it at first. After speaking with the referee, Diakhaby and his teammates left the field and went into the locker rooms.

The Valencia players returned several minutes later to resume the game, with the team saying it was abiding by Diakhaby’s request. Diakhaby did not return, though, with Hugo Guillamón coming on. The game restarted more than 20 minutes after being stopped. Cala continued playing but was substituted at halftime. He had scored the team's opening goal in the 14th minute. Cádiz won the match 2-1 thanks to an 88th-minute header by Marcos Mauro, moving further away from the relegation zone. Kevin Gameiro had equalized for 12th-place Valencia in the 19th minute.

Coach Javi Gracia later claimed they were told they would be punished if they refused to resume the match.

"In the changing rooms we were told if we didn't return, we would be sanctioned," said Gracia.

"In that moment, we spoke with Diakha, about how he was, and he told us that he wouldn't play but he understood perfectly we had to continue playing to avoid a possible sanction, so we returned."

Valencia defender Jose Gaya had also told Spanish television after the game: "He (Diakhaby) told us he was insulted in a racist way. We went back out to play because they told us they could penalize us with three points and something more. He asked us to go back, he's gutted, it was a very ugly insult."/agencies

At least 557 people have been killed in a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters since the Feb.1 military takeover in Myanmar, according to the latest figures by a rights watchdog.

In a daily briefing report on Saturday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 2,658 people are currently under detention, while at least 235 others have been issued arrest warrants.

Protesters have filled streets in Myanmar for over two months against the coup, and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, the erstwhile state counselor, and other leaders of her National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in the Nov. 2020 elections.

The response by security forces has been brutal with civilians being shot, beatings, detentions as well as nighttime raids.

In the biggest city of Yangon on Sunday, a group of protesters organized an 'Easter Egg Strike'. Marching through the streets, protesters chanted slogans and handed out eggs bearing the messages of protest.

Demonstrations also continued in cities including Magway, Mandalay, and Bago./aa