BHUBANESWAR: Indian police shot dead 20 stone-throwing sandalwood smugglers on Tuesday during the biggest operation for years to stamp out trafficking of the rare commodity, law-enforcement authorities said.
Opposition politicians and human rights activists challenged the report, maintaining that those killed in the incident in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh were only unarmed laborers and calling for an investigation.
Andhra Pradesh Police Chief J.V. Ramudu told reporters that a dozen-strong police task force had come under a hail of stones launched by around 100 stone-throwing smugglers who were also brandishing axes, sickles and other sharp-edged weapons.
Police were forced to fire back in self-defense, he said.
Ramudu said nine smugglers were killed in the Chitoor district and 11 in a second clash a kilometer (half a mile) away. All 20 were from the adjacent state of Tamil Nadu.
Human Rights Forum, a regional advocacy group, said the protesters were only unarmed laborers and demanded an investigation. “We think it was a fake encounter. Police liquidated them in cold blood and then concocted the story of an exchange of fire,” forum general secretary V.S. Krishna said.
Andhra Pradesh is home to stocks of red sandalwood, whose felling, transport and sale is prohibited in India but which is highly prized for furniture in China and Japan.
20 sandalwood smugglers killed in Andhra Pradesh
20 sandalwood smugglers killed in Andhra Pradesh
Cambodia says Thailand bombs casino hub on border
- The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 17 in Cambodia, while displacing around 800,000
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia said Thailand’s military on Thursday bombed the casino town of Poipet, a major crossing between the two nations, as foreign powers pressured them to halt reignited border clashes.
Thai forces “dropped two bombs in the area of Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province” at around 11:00 am (0400 GMT) Thursday, the Cambodian defense ministry said in a statement.
Thailand has not yet confirmed any strike on Poipet — a bustling casino hub popular with Thai gamblers.
The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 17 in Cambodia, while displacing around 800,000, officials said.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.
Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians.
Thailand said Tuesday that between 5,000 and 6,000 Thai nationals remained stranded in Poipet after Cambodia closed its land border crossings with its neighbor.
Cambodia’s interior ministry said the border closures were a “necessary measure” to reduce risks to civilians amid the ongoing combat, adding that air travel remained an option for those seeking to leave.
At least four casinos in Cambodia have been damaged by Thai strikes, the interior ministry said this week.
- ‘Shuttle-diplomacy’ -
Five days of fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, and then broken within months.
US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly intervened in the long-standing conflict this year, claimed last week that the two countries had agreed to a new ceasefire.
But Bangkok denied any truce had been agreed, and fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets has continued daily since a border skirmish earlier this month sparked the latest round of conflict.
China said it was sending its special envoy for Asian affairs to Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday for a “shuttle-diplomacy trip” to help bridge the gaps and “rebuild peace.”
“Through its own way, China has been working actively for deescalation,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.
Foreign ministers from ASEAN regional bloc nations are due to meet on Monday in Malaysia for emergency talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution.
“Our duty is to present the facts but more important is to press upon them that it is imperative for them to secure peace,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told journalists late Wednesday.
“We are appealing to them to immediately stop this frontline offensive and if possible, an immediate ceasefire,” Anwar said at his official residence in Putrajaya, adding that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the talks.
European Commission vice president Kaja Kallas said in a statement that she had spoken with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand on Wednesday, offering the European Union’s support for ceasefire monitoring with satellite imagery.
“The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia must not be allowed to spiral further. That’s why the ceasefire needs to be immediately restored,” Kallas said.
