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| Southeast Asia | |
| Child killed in school hostage drama (Cambodia) | |
| 2005-06-16 | |
| The list of demands indicates to me this is local bandits, so I didn't put under WOT. Reclassify if necessary. Reg required. One child has been killed before dozens of others were freed during a hostage crisis at an international school in Cambodia. British, Australian and Japanese kindergarten children had been among the hostages being held by six armed men. The nationality of the dead child has not been disclosed. (Now being reported as a Canadian boy) Gunshots had been heard at the school in the northwest of the country near a popular tourist area. It is believed the hostage crisis came to an end after men stormed the minibus being used by the kidnappers to get away. It is unclear who had fired the shots. The hostage-takers had been demanding that authorities give them money, weapons and a vehicle, the government and police said. The attackers' motives were not immediately clear. The school is in Siem Reap, a tourist area near Cambodia's famed Angkor temples and home to several expatriates. The men had taken about 70 people hostage but had later released 30, Khieu Kanharith, information minister, said. Three of the hostages had been teachers, police added. The attackers, armed with shotguns, stormed the school about 9:30 am, demanding $1,000, six AK-47 assault rifles, six shotguns, B-40 grenade launchers, hand grenades and a car. Authorities had communicated with the hostage-takers by mobile phone. Additional: It was unclear whether the child was deliberately killed by the gunmen, or killed in an exchange of gunfire between Cambodian authorities and the hostage-takers. But Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, quoting the deputy national police chief, said the gunmen killed the child when authorities refused to meet all of their demands. Reports about the child's age varied from two to five. He said the hostage-takers then threatened to kill the children one by one. Around 1:30 p.m local time, police apparently agreed to some of the gunmen's demands, handing over $30,000 U.S. and a 12-seater minivan. When the gunmen took no action, a counter-terrorism unit approached the building, and the police began shouting that they had the school surrounded. At that point, the hostage-takers said they would leave. But when the gunmen tried to escape with some children and teachers in the van, police opened fire and rushed the vehicle, smashing its windows. There were conflicting reports about the fate of the four hostage-takers. Some reports said two had been killed, while others said they were all arrested alive. Police said the men were criminals aged 22 to 25 from the southeastern province of Kandal.
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| Posted by:phil_b |
| #1 It seems like a queer list of demands. Can someone enlighten me? What would simple bandits do with grenade launchers? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-16 05:55 |