| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Army pursues militant unit in southern Thailand |
| 2007-03-03 |
| Thai army rangers are searching for a band of armed militants who escaped after an exchange of gunfire near their mountain stronghold in this troubled southern province Friday, a senior police officer said Saturday. Pol. Maj-Gen. Yongyuth Charoenvanich, Narathiwat police chief, said army rangers are sweeping for the escaped insurgents and their wounded, believed still hiding on Ta Wae mountain. "It's believed there are not less than 10 militants in the group with a blood trail found, indicating that some were able to escape," according to Maj-Gen. Yongyuth. Bodies of five dead men and identification cards were found at the scene of the clash and, according to the police chief, none of the five were on the security list for creating violence in the region. The five corpses are now in a hospital morque here for autopsy. In addition to the bodies and ID cards, rangers also seized a militant training camp at the foot of the mountain. It was the first time security officials had discovered an active militant training base since the renewed violence erupted in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Two M-16 assault rifles, a shotgun and ammunition were found. Officicals believed that the assault rifles were stolen from an army camp in Narathiwat during a raid by militants in January 2004 which sparked renewed violence in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. The training camp, according to senior army and police officers, is at the foot of the mountain and is equipped with a tent and 10 beds. A training field was seen near the tent, they said, adding that army rangers had also seized clothing, Yawi language (a local Malay dialect) teaching materials, rice and dried food. Army spokesman Col. Akara Tip-roj said at least three groups of youths had received training at the camp, and that training took 30-45 days for each group to complete. Military officers reportedly believed that similar training camps have been set up in dense jungles in the three troubled provinces. Meanwhile, Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, Council for National Security spokesman, said that with cooperation by local security personnel 192 suspected militants were invited to join a military-led rehabilitation course, with 33 now undertaking the course. Thirty-nine suspects were arrested and confessed to staging unrest in the area. Col. Sansern said these operations were launched between October 1 last year, and the end of February this year. |
| Posted by:ryuge |