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Thai Army Chief Says 500 Held
in Hospital Siege
02:02 a.m. Jan 24, 2000 Eastern RATCHABURI, Thailand (Reuters) - Thailand's army chief Gen. Surayudh Julanond said Monday about 500 people were trapped as hostages in a Thai provincial hospital taken over by armed guerrillas from Myanmar. He told reporters the army had agreed to an initial demand by the attackers for it to stop shelling their base on the Myanmar border. ``I have asked the army base in the area to stop firing,'' he said. ``Altogether about 500 people are inside,'' he said adding that the Thai side had also agreed to a demand by the attackers not to get to close to the hospital. A Thai security forces officer negotiating with the attackers earlier told reporters they had claimed that 200-300 people had been killed in Thai shelling of their positions in support of Myanmar government attacks. He said the attackers, who Thai officials say belong to ''God's Army'' -- a small group that broke away from Myanmar's Karen National Union ethnic guerrillas and is run by 12-year-old twins -- have also demanded Thailand send doctors and nurses to treat their casualties and allow their fighters to cross into Thailand. The hostage crisis is the second to hit Thailand in less than four months. In October, a group of five armed dissidents took over the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok for 25 hours. They took refuge with God's Army after releasing their hostages and being allowed free passage to the border. |