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| Southeast Asia |
| Security raised in Thai south after wave of attacks |
| 2019-01-02 |
| [Bangkok Post] Security has been stepped up in Thailand's far south following a wave of violent attacks that happened in the past week. Additional measures have been ordered in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, as well as around strategic locations and tourist hot spots in Songkhla. National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda visited Narathiwat on Sunday evening following a series of attacks in Narathiwat last week, and instructed his men to intensify their efforts to keep things under control. Bomb and gun attacks have rocked Narathiwat's Ragnae district in recent days with the latest reported in tambon Ba Ngo on Sunday night. Two roadside electricity poles were damaged when the bomb went off, but there were no reports of injuries. Security officers suspect the bomb was the work of insurgents behind an explosion at a concrete railway sleeper near Ban Yaba in Rueso district, as well as another bomb attack on roadside power poles at Ban Bo Thong in Rangae on December 28-29. Also on December 28, a group of insurgents seized a community hospital in Rangae to launch an attack on a nearby civilian defense volunteer base. The assault reportedly lasted for half an hour before the attackers fled. There were no reports of injuries. After inspecting some of the attack targets including the civilian defense volunteer base, police chief Chakthip's team flew to Phuket to inspect security preparations ahead of the New Year celebrations. The resort island is crowded with tourists as well as VIPs. Meanwhile, a military source close to the situation in the South said young insurgents are opposed to a meeting between Dulloh Waemanor, identified as head of Barisan Revolusi Nasional's (BRN) armed group, and Gen Udomchai Thammasaroraj, head of the Thai negotiation team. Malaysia's new facilitator for the peace talks, Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, has brokered a meeting for the pair, which is believed to have triggered the attacks, according to the source. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has championed the peace negotiations. He suggested Thailand try offering southerners more autonomy to persuade them to give up their struggle for independence. |
| Posted by:ryuge |