Gunman kills three in Thailand's conflict-hit south
BANGKOK - A gunman has shot dead three people including a child in Thailand's insurgency-hit south, police said on May 3, as authorities pursued the suspect.
The attacker opened fire late on May 2 in a residential area of Tak Bai district in Narathiwat province, one of three Muslim-majority provinces in Thailand's far south gripped by a decades-long separatist insurgency.
Three people were killed, including a nine-year-old girl and a 75-year-old man, police said.
'One victim died at the scene, and two others succumbed to their injuries at the hospital,' local police officer Watthana Thurarat told AFP, adding that two more people were wounded.
Police believe the suspect, who remains at large, is linked to a rebel group, Mr Watthana said.
Violence frequently rocks the kingdom's southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, where separatists seeking greater autonomy for the religiously distinct region have killed more than 7,000 people since 2004.
However, attacks on unarmed civilians in residential areas remain relatively rare, with most targeting security personnel.
In 2004, Thai security forces shot into a crowd of protesters outside a police station in Tak Bai, killing seven.
Subsequently, 78 others suffocated in the back of military trucks after they were arrested – a deadly crackdown widely seen as a trigger for the southern unrest in the Buddhist-majority country.
A Thai court in 2024 dismissed the long-delayed Tak Bai case, brought by victims' families against seven officials, when the statute of limitations expired.
Analysts have warned the decision could further inflame tensions in the region. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Colombia's Petro threatens labor reform by referendum as congressional deadline looms
Placards in support of Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay of the opposition Democratic Center party, who was shot during a campaign event, are displayed at the Congress, on the day of a debate on a labor reform proposed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro's government, in Bogota, Colombia, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita Colombia President Gustavo Petro attends a group photo session before the opening ceremony for the China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting in Beijing, China May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo BOGOTA - Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday signed a decree to hold a referendum on labor reforms, an attempt to force the Senate to vote on a proposal on the matter before their session wraps up later this month. The referendum proposal seeks to limit the working day, increase the surcharge for Sunday and holiday work from 75% to 100% and require social security payments for delivery app drivers. The Senate is currently debating a modified labor reform, after in May rejecting a 12-question version of the referendum in a tight 49 to 47 vote, which Petro later alleged was fraudulent. The legislature's current session ends on June 20. Petro and his interior minister, Armando Benedetti, said that if the reform passed, the referendum would be called off. If the referendum were to be held, each measure would need to be approved by the majority of at least 13.5 million voters, a third of Colombia's electoral roll, to be valid. Opposition parties have said Petro's decree is tantamount to a coup, violates the country's constitution and destroys the separation of powers of Colombia's three branches of government. Analysts have warned, meanwhile, that the decree could face legal challenges, including in the Constitutional Court. A majority of the social and economic reforms promised by Petro - who was elected in 2022 on pledges to right centuries of inequality in the Andean country - have been rejected by lawmakers. Colombia will hold legislative and presidential elections in the first half of 2026. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Zelensky says Russia seeks to disrupt Ukraine, Moldova, south-eastern Europe
Mr Zelensky said collective efforts were needed to keep Moscow from causing further disruption. PHOTO: REUTERS ODESA, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 11 Russia was determined to sow chaos in and destroy the south of his country as well as nearby Moldova and Romania, and called for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent further military threats. Mr Zelensky, addressing a conference of southeast European leaders in the Black Sea port of Odesa, said collective efforts were needed to keep Moscow from causing further disruption. "The security of south-eastern Europe and the Black Sea is indivisible... Today, we are forced to fight not only for our country, but also for this reality to become the cornerstone of a new regional policy," Mr Zelensky said on Telegram. "We are here in Odesa, a city that Russia wants to destroy, as it has destroyed countless other cities. Russian military plans are aimed at this region, and then at the borders with Moldova and Romania. We need protection now. But even more, we need long-term guarantees that this will never happen again." Odesa, site of three ports, has been a frequent target of Russian air strikes in three years of war. The city came under a massive drone attack on June 9 that targeted an emergency medical building, a maternity ward and residential buildings. Much attention has focused on a possible Russian threat to Moldova, where pro-European President Maia Sandu has accused Moscow of trying to destabilise her country and unseat her. Her Party of Action and Solidarity, which holds a majority in Parliament, faces a general election in September, the outcome of which could affect the president's ability to press on with a campaign to join the European Union in 2030. Ukraine has also started talks on EU membership. "For three decades, Russia has tried to keep Moldova poor and unstable in order to take full control of it," Mr Zelensky said. "If Europe loses in Moldova this year, it will embolden Russia to meddle even more in your countries' affairs, taking away your resources, your sovereignty, even your history." Ms Sandu told the conference that Moldova "knows just what hybrid war is and is prepared to share its experience". "Moldova is facing one of its most important elections. Russia wants to see Moldova turn away from Ukraine. More to the point, it wants to use Moldova against Ukraine and the EU." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israel says bodies of two hostages retrieved from Gaza
A military statement said a joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet security agency recovered the bodies. PHOTO: REUTERS Israel says bodies of two hostages retrieved from Gaza JERUSALEM - Israeli forces have retrieved the bodies of two hostages from the Gaza Strip, the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 11, as Israel presses its offensive in the Palestinian territory. A military statement said a joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet security agency recovered the bodies of Mr Yair Yaakov and 'an additional hostage whose name has not yet been cleared for publication' from the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza. Mr Yaakov, a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was 59 when he was seized in the Hamas-led Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel and killed the same day. The military statement said he had been abducted and killed by fighters from Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally. Mr Yaakov was abducted along with his partner Meirav Tal, as they sheltered in their safe room in Nir Oz. She was freed on Nov 28, 2023 during the first truce. Abducted separately at the home of their mother, Mr Yair's two children Yagil and Or were also released on Nov 27 during the first truce. Nir Oz was one of the communities hit hardest by the attack, with nearly a quarter of its residents killed or taken hostage. Mr Netanyahu also announced the return of two bodies from Gaza, including that of Mr Yaakov. 'Along with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost their most precious loved ones,' he said in a statement. 'We will not rest and we will not be silent until all our hostages – the living and the fallen alike – are brought home.' Before the latest announcement, out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 were still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military said were dead. Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct 7, 2023 attacked Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
