UTHAI SAWAN, Thailand: Friends hugged sobbing family members struggling with staggering loss Friday in a rural northeastern Thailand community mourning the children and other victims slain by a fired police officer in the nation’s deadliest shooting rampage.
At least 24 of the 36 people killed in the assault Thursday in the small town of Uthai Sawan were children.
On Friday morning, royal and government representatives in white, military-style coats stood in lines to lay wreaths at ceremonial tables in front of the Young Children’s Development Center’s main door. They were followed by weeping family members, who gathered their hands in prayer before laying white flowers on the wooden floor.
“I cried until I had no more tears coming out of my eyes. They are running through my heart,” said Seksan Sriraj, 28, whose pregnant wife was a teacher at the center and was due to give birth this month. “My wife and my child have gone to a peaceful place. I am alive and will have to live. If I can’t go on, my wife and my child will be worried about me, and they won’t be reborn in the next life. That’s about it.”
Many relatives were gathered in front of the child care center to start the process of claiming compensation and psychologists were also sent to the site to help them. Seven of the 10 people who were wounded were still hospitalized Friday.
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida were expected later Friday to visit two hospitals treating the wounded, and Prime Minster Prayuth Chan-ocha was expected to visit the daycare center and the hospitals.
When asked whether he thought the child care center was secure enough, Seksan noted the attacker had been a police officer. “He came to do what he had in his mind and was determined to do it. I think everyone did the best they could.”
Police speculated the gunman targeted the center because it was near his home. They identified him as Panya Kamrap, 34, a former police sergeant fired earlier this year because of a drug charge involving methamphetamine. He had been due to appear in court Friday.
Witnesses said the attacker got out of a car and shot a man eating lunch before pausing to reload. Staff at the child care center locked the door, but the gunman shot his way through it. The children, mainly 2- and 3-year-olds, had been taking an afternoon nap, and photos taken by first responders showed their tiny bodies still lying on blankets.
Panya took his own life after killing his wife and child at home.
Nopparat Langkapin, a local official in Uthai Sawan, said the victims were “all children of our community.”
“Relatives, families and close friends are deeply saddened by this incident. And we all felt this across the community very quickly. Most of us are feeling depressed and sad because they are our children,” he said.
The attack took place in Nongbua Lamphu province, one of the country’s poorest regions.
A video taken by a first responder arriving at the scene showed rescuers rushing into the single-story building past a shattered glass front door, with drops of blood visible on the ground in the entryway. Photos showed slashes to the victims’ faces and gunshots to their heads.
In footage posted online after the attack, frantic family members wept outside the building. The floor was smeared with blood, and pictures of the alphabet and other colorful decorations adorned the walls.
Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand, which has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Asia, with 15.1 weapons per 100 population compared to only 0.3 in Singapore and 0.25 in Japan. That’s still far lower than the US rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australia’s GunPolicy.org nonprofit organization.
The US and Australia expressed sympathy and solidarity. “All Australians send their love and condolences,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted. “This violence is both senseless and heartbreaking,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Thailand’s previous worst mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.
Nearly 60 others were wounded in that attack. Its death toll surpassed that of the previously worst attack on civilians, a 2015 bombing at a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people. It was allegedly carried out by human traffickers in retaliation for a crackdown on their network.
Last month, a clerk shot co-workers at Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and wounding another before he was arrested.
Thailand mourns children, others slain by ex-police officer
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Thailand mourns children, others slain by ex-police officer
- Police speculated the gunman targeted the center because it was near his home
Spain signals support for UN-led mission to stabilize Gaza
Macron said on Monday that such a UN mission would be tasked with securing the Gaza Strip, protecting civilians and working in support of unspecified Palestinian governance. He said the UN Security Council should work on establishing the mission, while France would also work with its partners.
“The proposal ... is one of the tools that can help achieve peace and security in Gaza and the Middle East, as is the work of UNRWA as the UN agency for aid to the Palestinian people,” the Spanish ministry said in an emailed reply to questions from Reuters.
“This force must be a step toward building the two-state solution,” it added, referring to the idea of bringing peace through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel in territory Israel captured in a 1967 war.
Spain is a sharp critic of Israel’s widening war in Gaza and last year joined a handful of EU nations in recognizing a Palestinian state, a group now joined by France.
By proposing a UN-mandated mission in Gaza, Macron is seeking to build on the momentum created by his recognition of a Palestinian state last month, which set off a domino of recognitions, with Britain, Canada and Australia announcing plans to follow suit next month.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said a temporary UN mission could ultimately contribute to a successful transfer of power to a Palestinian state administration and to achieving peace and security for all.
Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, in a move that expanded its military operations in the shattered Palestinian territory and drew strong criticism at home and abroad.
Mortar kills 2 children and their mother in northwest Pakistan where troops are targeting militants
- Government officials said the ongoing offensive against the Pakistani Taliban has displaced 25,000 families or an estimated 100,000 people in Bajaur, where authorities eased a curfew on Wednesday, allowing residents to buy essential items
KHAR: A mortar struck a home and killed two children and their mother in a northwestern Pakistani region where security forces are carrying out a “targeted operation ” against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and a hospital official said Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the overnight civilian casualties in Mamund, a town in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
Naseeb Gul, a medical doctor at a local hospital, said the dead were two children and their mother. Two people were also wounded Tuesday when another mortar hit their home, he said.
Angered by the deaths, hundreds of demonstrators were refusing to bury the bodies and demanding an investigation, according to local villager Mohammad Khalid.
There was no immediate comment from the government or the military.
The latest development came days after security forces launched an offensive in Bajaur to target militant hideouts. The provincial government said the “targeted operation” was launched after tribal elders failed to evict insurgents from the region.
Government officials said the ongoing offensive against the Pakistani Taliban has displaced 25,000 families or an estimated 100,000 people in Bajaur, where authorities eased a curfew on Wednesday, allowing residents to buy essential items.
Thousands of displaced people are currently residing in government buildings, and many other have gone to other safer areas to live with relatives.
The Bajaur offensive is the second operation there since 2009, when the military launched a large-scale campaign against the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The TTP is a separate but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover and have been living there openly. Some have crossed the border back into Bajaur to carry out attacks.
Clashes erupt at Serbian anti-government protests, with dozens injured
- Incidents first started on Tuesday evening in Vrbas, northwest of the capital Belgrade, where riot police separated protesters from the opposed camps outside the ruling Serbian Progressive Party offices in the town
BELGRADE: Clashes erupted at protests in Serbia between opponents and supporters of the government in an escalation of tensions following more than nine months of persistent demonstrations against populist President Aleksandar Vucic.
Incidents first started on Tuesday evening in Vrbas, northwest of the capital Belgrade, where riot police separated protesters from the opposed camps outside the ruling Serbian Progressive Party offices in the town.
Video footages from the scene showed government supporters throwing flares, rocks and bottles at the protesters, who hurled back various objects. Police said dozens of people were injured, including 16 policemen. Similar incidents were reported at protests in other parts of the country.
The student-led protests in Serbia first started in November after a train station canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad killed 16 people, triggering accusations of corruption in state infrastructure projects.
Protests have since drawn hundreds of thousands of people, shaking Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia. The president’s supporters have recently started organizing counter-demonstrations, fueling fears of violence.
Police said several people were detained after the clashes in Vrbas. Police Commissioner Dragan Vasiljevic told the state RTS television that the protesters “came to attack” the ruling party supporters outside the party offices.
Protesters have said government supporters attacked them first in Vrbas and also further south in Backa Palanka and later in Novi Sad and the southern city of Nis. In Belgrade, riot police pushed away protesters who gathered in a downtown area.
Protests in Serbia since November have been largely peaceful. Led by university students, the protesters are demanding that Vucic calls an early parliamentary election which he has refused. Protesting students have also called for the ouster of Interior Minister Ivica Dacic over recent violence at demonstrations.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China. He has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms since coming to power 13 years ago.
Persistent student-led protests against Vucic’s populist government have been held almost daily since November when a fatal train station canopy crash killed 16 people, triggering a wave of anti-corruption
Clashes erupt at Serbian anti-government protests, with dozens injured
- Tensions have escalated following more than nine months of persistent demonstrations against populist President Aleksandar Vucic
BELGRADE: Clashes erupted at protests in Serbia between opponents and supporters of the government in an escalation of tensions following more than nine months of persistent demonstrations against populist President Aleksandar Vucic.
Incidents first started on Tuesday evening in Vrbas, northwest of the capital Belgrade, where riot police separated protesters from the opposed camps outside the ruling Serbian Progressive Party offices in the town.
Video footages from the scene showed government supporters throwing flares, rocks and bottles at the protesters, who hurled back various objects. Police said dozens of people were injured, including 16 policemen. Similar incidents were reported at protests in other parts of the country.
The student-led protests in Serbia first started in November after a train station canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad killed 16 people, triggering accusations of corruption in state infrastructure projects.
Protests have since drawn hundreds of thousands of people, shaking Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia. The president’s supporters have recently started organizing counter-demonstrations, fueling fears of violence.
Police said several people were detained after the clashes in Vrbas. Police Commissioner Dragan Vasiljevic told the state RTS television that the protesters “came to attack” the ruling party supporters outside the party offices.
Protesters have said government supporters attacked them first in Vrbas and also further south in Backa Palanka and later in Novi Sad and the southern city of Nis. In Belgrade, riot police pushed away protesters who gathered in a downtown area.
Protests in Serbia since November have been largely peaceful. Led by university students, the protesters are demanding that Vucic calls an early parliamentary election which he has refused. Protesting students have also called for the ouster of Interior Minister Ivica Dacic over recent violence at demonstrations.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China. He has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms since coming to power 13 years ago.
Persistent student-led protests against Vucic’s populist government have been held almost daily since November when a fatal train station canopy crash killed 16 people, triggering a wave of anti-corruption
Wildfires scorch Greece for a second day, thousands evacuated
- “Today, it will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country’s regions will be very high,” Vathrakogiannis said
PATRAS: Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands.
Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday.
Dozens of people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.
Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos and in at least three inland spots.
“Today, it will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country’s regions will be very high,” Vathrakogiannis said. Temperatures were forecast to reach 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 Fahrenheit) in some places.
Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic near Patras on Wednesday.
“What it looks like? It looks like doomsday. We came from Athens with our volunteer association Kleisthenis, we can’t do anything more. May God help us and help people here,” said volunteer firefighter Giorgos Karavanis, who was working on the fire near Patras.
Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave their homes.
On the island of Chios, the coast guard used boats to take people to safety on Tuesday as flames reached the shores.
Spain, Portugal, Turkiye and the Balkans have also battled wildfires in recent days as a heatwave pushed temperatures over 40 C (104 F) across parts of Europe. In Albania and Montenegro, wildfires have destroyed houses and possessions since last week.
