GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AP) — Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo on Sunday said he had declared a state of emergency in two municipalities in western Guatemala a day after armed men attacked a military post and a police station, cut off roads and hijacked buses, killing at least five people.

Criminal gangs are attempting to force security forces to withdraw in order to take control of the region, Arévalo said. He said his government would reinforce security.

This state of emergency, the first declared by his government, will last for 15 days in the municipalities of Nahuala and Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan in the department of Solola.

“We are at a critical moment for the department of Solola and the security of the country,” Arévalo said, accompanied Interior Minister Marco Villeda a

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