THAI BOMBS

Double explosions occur outside supermarket

PATTANI in a large fireball, sending bystanders running for cover.

Police were on the scene and appeared to be encouraging people to move back when the second blast struck.

A large swathe of the supermarket storefront had been blown away, replaced by a twisted mess of charred metal.

Most of the injured were discharged after receiving treatment, but 21 with serious injuries were hospitalised, said Arun Prasertsuk, deputy director of Pattani Hospital.

Near-daily shootings and bomb attacks have claimed more than 6,800 lives since 2004, with both sides accused of rights abuses. there are no accurate death tolls available for South Sudan, one of the world’s least developed nations. Many South Sudanese refugees have fled into neighbouring

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) condemned those behind the blasts for targeting an area where children would be present.

“No child’s life should ever be put at risk this way. This is wholly unacceptable,” said Unicef ’s Thailand representative Thomas Davin. Agencies Uganda, Kenya, Sudan or Ethiopia, nations which are already struggling to provide enough food and resources for their own populations. Reuters

REUTERS PIC The view of the blast site outside the Big C supermarket in Pattani, Thailand, yesterday.

REUTERS PIC A displaced boy from South Sudan standing next to family belongings in Lamwo after fleeing fighting in Pajok town across the border in northern Uganda on Friday.