UPDATED ON:
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
13:01 Mecca time, 10:01 GMT
 
News Asia-Pacific
Thailand halts work on Salween dam
The damming of the Salween river has been condemned by locals and environmentalists

Thailand is suspending work on its controversial hydropower dam project on the Salween River in Myanmar after a worker was killed in an attack.

 

Thai officials say work will not resume until they have received safety assurances from

An employee of Thailand's state-run electricity authority was killed in an artillery attack on Sunday, prompting an evacuation of dozens of Thai staff working on the project.

 

In May a Thai geologist working on the project was killed after stepping on a landmine.

Myanmar's state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper has blamed Sunday attack on the rebel Karen National Union.

 

Locals have criticized the $1bn Salween dam project as threatening the livelihoods of millions of people who live along the river.

 

The project has also been criticised by environmentalists, who say the dam will destroy a remote and ecologically rich region.

 

Plans have been drawn up for as many as 18 dams and diversions along the length of the Salween river - 13 in China and five where the river runs inside Myanmar or forms its frontier with Thailand.

 Source: Agencies
 
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