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Muslims suffocate in police trucks
AT least 84 Muslims died - mainly from suffocation in the back of security force trucks - after police and troops broke up a violent demonstration in southern Thailand. Most of the victims died while being taken into custody after officials used water cannon and tear gas to break up the protest on Monday outside a police station in the Takbai district of Narathiwat province. Six were confirmed dead from the clashes on Monday and more than 1000 demonstrators were arrested.Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan, a forensics expert who works for the Justice Ministry, said yesterday she and a team of doctors conducted autopsies on 78 bodies at an army camp in Pattani province and found 80 per cent of them had perished from suffocation. "We didn't find any dead bodies with broken arms or legs, but between two or three of them had broken necks, which may have been caused from the transportation," she said. Major-General Sinchai Nujsathit, deputy commander of the Fourth Army, said the victims may have died from suffocation "because we had more than 1300 people packed into the six-wheel trucks". He did not say how many trucks were used. Posted by: tipper 2004-10-27 |
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