Posted on 06/15/2005 11:38:28 PM PDT by InShanghai
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Gunmen took 29 kindergarten pupils hostage at international school in the Cambodian town of Siem Reap on Thursday, including the children of American, British and Japanese expatriates, a resident said.
The hostages also included Irish, Singaporean, Australian, Canadian, Indian, Indonesian, Swiss, Filipino, Korean and Taiwanese children between the ages of 2 and 6.
The expatriate resident, who said she had seen a list of the children held in the school, said the gunmen had released one class of children at the Siem Reap International School, but were holding another class hostage to demand money, weapons and cars.
The parents of the foreign children are all believed to be working in the hotel industry in the town near the famed 800-year-old Angkor Wat temples.
Hope these kids make it out safely!
Me too BUMP.
Religion of peace types ?
Diminished by defections and a declining support base, the Khmer Rouge increasingly turned toward banditry and terror in 1994. Khmer Rouge radio commentaries on several occasions threatened physical harm to Americans and other foreign nationals living in Cambodia. Travelers in some areas outside Phnom Penh, particularly remote rural districts, faced security threats from the Khmer Rouge and from bandits. An American was taken hostage and held by Khmer Rouge elements for one and one-half months but was eventually released unharmed. Many other civilians, however, were killed by the Khmer Rouge in 1994. The victims were mainly ordinary Cambodian villagers, but foreigners, including Thais, Vietnamese, and six Western tourists (three from Britain, two from Australia, and one from France), were killed by the Khmer Rouge in 1994.
Yahoo news search turned up this article with a little more info:
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Gunmen have taken at least 29 students aged under seven and at least one teacher hostage at an international school in northwestern Cambodia's Siem Reap.
"We've made a list of names and nationalities. It looks like there are at least 29 children. This is not an official list it's what people can remember," the eyewitness who asked not to be named told AFP, adding at least one teacher was with them.
She said the children were aged between two and six and were believed to be from Australia, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, France, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Switzerland, and the United States.
"As far as we can piece it out, six kidnappers came in. They seemed to be bandits of some kind... They seemed to be on the run and it looks like they entered without much of a plan."
The men, believed to be armed with a single AK-47, had demanded six more of the guns, six grenades, a thousand US dollars and a van to take them to Thailand, she said by telephone.
"They entered about 8:30 or 9:00 am (0130 or 200 GMT) this morning. The kids are really little," said the eyewitness.
Prak Chanthoeun, a deputy military police commander, told AFP that up to 20 students were being held and none had been released.
The eyewitness, who said several dozen police had surrounded the school, said children in a second building entered by the gunmen had left but was unsure whether they were released intentionally or escaped.
Ou Em, bureau chief of the serious crime department in Siem Reap, told AFP: "We are pointing guns at them now." He declined to comment further.
"We are discussing this now," a woman who answered the phone at Siem Reap International School told AFP, also refusing further comment.
US embassy spokesman David Gainer told AFP it was "still very early on" and said the embassy was working to find out details.
It was not immediately clear how many children attend the school, located in Siem Reap town, which is home to a sizeable expatriate population, with many working in the aid and tourism sectors.
Yaba dealers/users?
Lost/stole some RCAF general's heroin shipment?
One AK?
Thanks. I think the southern area is more ROP troubled.
Operation has been conducted against the gunmen, siege over, 4 gunmen captured, one child dead per BBC.
Damn, prayers for the child.
People who take kids hostage are the scum of the earth. Prayers for the deceased child, and all of the other children.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A six-hour hostage drama at a school in the Cambodian town of Siem Reap near Angkor Wat ended on Thursday, a witness said shortly after volleys of shots were heard.
All of a sudden, the gates opened and people came out with children in their arms," John McDermott, a freelance photographer, told CNN. He said ambulances were at the scene.
"It seems everything is under control now," he added.
It looks like 2 dead gunmen, 4 captured gunmen, and 1 dead child.
Prayers for the child and family.
Maybe not 2 dead gunmen, maybe just 4 captured.
Prayer for that child. :-( Hope they treat the 4 captured bastards accordingly.
Ironically they will treat them better than normally because the Canadians will demand a full "due process" trial.
Had the incident not involved any foreign kids, the perps would be getting bullets in the head this afternoon.
Cambodian street-level justice is very swift and very conclusive.
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