ISTANBUL

Thailand on Wednesday banned the issuance of new gun licenses for a year amid public concerns due to a spate of shooting incidents.

Traisulee Traisoranakul, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said on her official Facebook page that the order will take effect immediately "to maintain public order and safety."

She said firearms were being carried in public places, causing danger to life and property, and affecting social order.

Thailand is said to have one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region.

The move comes two months after a 14-year-old boy opened fire in a Bangkok shopping mall in October, killing three people.

A year earlier, as many as 35 people, including 22 children, were killed at a nursery in northeastern Thailand, during an hours-long gun and knife attack by a former policeman.