02-08-2025
Mourning echoes as guns fall silent in Si Sa Ket
The guns have fallen silent in the Thai-Cambodian conflict, giving way to the sounds of mourning for civilians who lost their lives in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province.
People gathered on Saturday morning to place flowers and messages at the ruins of a 7-Eleven store at a PTT service station, which was destroyed by BM-21 rockets fired from Cambodia on July 24. Eight innocent lives were taken, including an eight-year-old child.
The attack was the most severe in the border provinces affected by the five-day conflict, which resulted in 14 civilian deaths and 38 injuries in all on the Thai side.
The memorial ceremony in Ban Phue was led by Pakkanan Sila-at, deputy secretary-general for administration of the government.
A large crowd of local residents and leaders joined local authorities, former military officers and Thai and international media to lay flowers in tribute and help send off the souls of those who died.
The event was also intended to underline Thailand's condemnation of Cambodia for attacking border communities, said the government.
On Friday, the Royal Thai Army led a delegation of foreign military attachés, diplomats and media members to observe the scene where the 'inhumane' attacks against civilians took place.
Local people were also present to talk about what happened on the day when their loved ones were killed and injured.
'The scene (on July 24) was heartbreaking. Flames engulfed the store, and we rushed to spray water to it, trying to search for survivors,' said Capt Santi Mongkolkaew, a civil affairs officer who was among the first arriving to help extinguish the fire.
'I didn't even think about whether more attacks would follow as the loss was already overwhelming,' he told reporters on Saturday.
