Police say a member of the KNU rebel group clashed with a ‘gang’ in Tak province, but the group denies involvement.
Authorities in Thailand have arrested two men following an explosion at a festival near the Myanmar border that killed three people and injured dozens.
Thai police said an improvised explosive device was thrown into the crowd at a dance floor during a crowded event in Umphang district in Thailand’s northern Tak province shortly before midnight on Friday.
The explosion killed two people instantly, one died later in hospital and 48 others were injured among the estimated 8,000-9,000 who attended the event.
Police said a Thai teenager and a man belonging to the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group fighting for independence in the neighboring Karen region, were arrested.
Tak police chief Major-General Samrit Ekamol said the suspect from Myanmar threw the bomb after meeting a “gang” he had previously fought with.
But a senior KNU official contacted by AFP news agency, who declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media, denied this and said the party has no members in the area.
Thanathip Sawangsang, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, told The Associated Press that local police had reported a fight between rival gangs of men before the explosion and that there was no wider security threat.
He said the evidence of the investigation revealed that the explosive was a home-made bomb.
Tak province has a large military force in its border areas, including Umphang.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and urged the security agencies to carry out an investigation.
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