Violence and atrocities : death toll

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Massacre of children in Thailand in a knife and gun rampage, condolences pour in

It was a sad day for Thailand when a former police sergeant, discharged over drug allegations, shot and knifed children and staff in a daycare center. The assailant targeted the children, aged between two and five. He slashed them to death, and shot the adults. It happens to be one of the world's worst death tolls of children massacred by a single killer. The killer was facing trial on a drugs charge. The tragedy happened in Uthai Sawan, a town about 310 miles northeast of Bangkok, the capital of the largely Buddhist country. After committing the massacre, he left the daycare centre, went home and shot dead his wife and son before taking his own life. Families traumatised by Thailand attack cling to slain children's toys. The national police chief Damrongsak Kittipraphat said - "The reasons are probably unemployment, no money, and family issues," he said, adding that the attacker and his wife had had "longstanding problems."

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha met the families of the victims. He lay flowers and observed a moment of silence in front of the centre. King Maha also Vajiralongkorn visited the hospital. The Vatican said Pope Francis was deeply saddened by the "horrific attack." He condemned it as an "act of unspeakable violence against innocent children." Incidentally, there have been earlier instances of death in schools in other parts of the world. In Norway in 2011, Anders Breivik killed 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a summer camp. Later, in 2012, it was the killing of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut. In 1996, the toll as of 16 at Dunblane in Scotland and 19 at a school in Uvalde, Texas, this year. As far as Thailand goes, it has strict gun laws but gun ownership is high when compared with some Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, illegal weapons are common, with many brought in from strife-torn neighbours.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Unidentified gunmen stormed Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu and killed at least 20

Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, witnessed an attack by unidentified gunmen. They stormed Hayat Hotel and killed at least 20 persons. A doctor at a hospital revealed that the death toll could rise because many of the victims were in critical condition. This is the Madina, which is one of the two major hospitals in Mogadishu. The victims of the hotel attack were hospitalized here and bodies are still arriving at the hospital. An official of the police confirmed to a section of the media that security forces had entered the hotel building and regained control from the gunmen. Mogadishu hotel attack: Death toll rises. Two security officials suffered injuries in the ongoing attack.

Al-Shabaab, the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. It has said in a statement that its fighters had taken over the managed to take over the hotel. They had blasted their way into the building. However, there is no confirmation about this from other more authentic sources. A recent air strike by the United States did eliminate several members of the Al-Shabaab group. The US Africa Command had confirmed this earlier. It is not clear whether this has any link to the attack on the Hyat Hotel. Recently, in May, US President Joe Biden took a decision to redeploy US troops to Somalia in order to extend support to the local government and to counter threats of al-Shabaab. This was a reversal of decision taken by former President Donald Trump regarding withdrawal of all US troops from the country.