Three Civilians Killed During Jungle Encounter in Thai Deep South, Army Commander Says

Matahari Ismail and Mariyam Ahmad
Narathiwat, Thailand

 

Matahari Ismail/BenarNews

 

Thailand’s southern army commander clarified an earlier statement and promised a fair investigation on Tuesday when he announced that three men shot dead by a security task force in insurgency-stricken Narathiwat province the day before were unarmed civilians.

 

Shortly after the killings on Monday, Lt. Gen. Pornsak Poolsawat, the commander of the 4th Army Region that oversees Narathiwat and the rest of the Deep South, said the slain men were suspected insurgents who had clashed with security forces while others managed to escape.

 

But after hearing from relatives and conducting an initial investigation, Pornsak reversed his initial conclusion and spoke to reporters on Tuesday to set the record straight.

 

Full story: https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/thai/loggers-killed-12172019163518.html

 

-- Benar News 2019-12-19

"Shoot first and figure out coverup later"

21 hours ago, webfact said:

But after hearing from relatives and conducting an initial investigation, Pornsak reversed his initial conclusion and spoke to reporters on Tuesday to set the record straight.

A promise to better coverup what amounted to a military execution?

The South continues under a Prayut imposed State of Emergency since 2014. As such, accountability for military abuse of power depends solely on the graciousness of military authorities and not by any rule of law. Under such conditions, the military cannot never provide a path to peace in the South and insurgency violence will be further incentivized.