Thais in Turkey warned to take extra precautions

BANGKOK, July 9 (TNA) - About 1,300 Thais staying in Turkey are advised to take extra precautions, as Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to temporarily close its Consulate office in Istanbul as of July 9, after a group of men attacked the office at about midnight on Wednesday. According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' announcement through its Twitter page, the attack, however, caused no casualties among Thai citizens. The attack on the Thai Consulate in Istanbul came after the attackers were not happy with the Thai government's recent detention of a number of ethnic Uyghurs entering Thailand illegally. The Uyghurs claimed to be from Turkey and fled persecution in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region last March. Turkey earlier requested Thailand not to send the arrested ethnic Uyghurs to China on fears of being punished by death sentence. (TNA)