THAILAND ISSUES DRUG-TRADE WARNING

BANGKOK -Thailand officially launched a controversial "war on drugs"
yesterday, promising not to commit any extra-judicial killings, which
rights groups say plagued an earlier anti-narcotics push.

Chalerm Yoobumrung, the country's Interior Minister who is heading the
campaign, said the government would follow the rule of law, but issued
a dark warning to those involved in the drugs trade. "If anyone does
not want to die, don't walk this road," he said.

Human rights groups have said at least 2,500 people died in
extrajudicial killings in 2003 and 2004 during a similar get-tough
campaign. They accuse police and security officers of murdering
suspected drug dealers, but a government investigation found security
forces were acting in self-defence.