Security At Mosques, Temples In Deep South To Be Tightened

Security at mosques, temples in deep South to be tightened

BANGKOK: -- Two days after a massacre at a mosque in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat, security measures provided at mosques and Buddhist temples in the troubled deep South will be tightened as militants plan to carry out harsher violence in the troubled region, a senior Thai government official said on Wednesday.

Panithan Wattanayakorn, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister, said there are signs that violence in the deep South will worsen as insurgents will tend to place larger gas tank bombs in community areas along with increased incidence of arson, shooting teachers and students and attacking public health stations in the near future.

The militants will focus on attacking people who cannot defend themselves, he said.

Mr. Panithan’s remarks were made after unidentified assailants on Monday night attacked a mosque in Narathiwat which left 10 innocent people killed and 12 wounded.

Autopsies of the massacre will be released either this Friday or Saturday by the Central Institute of Forensic Science, said Mr. Panithan.

He said the government has prioritised on solving the unrest in the three southern provinces -- Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat – at three levels.

Areas where severe violence frequently takes place come under martial law, provincial seats under the executive degree in emergency situations and safe areas under the internal security act enforcement.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday cabinet ministers responsible for development projects in the troubled region would meet on Thursday.

They are also scheduled to discuss problems prevailing in the region. Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam, who oversees the insurgency in the South, said government statistics showed that violence and casualties during the first five months this year had dropped from the same period last year.

The number of incidents dropped by 65 while the number of people killed and injured declined by 47 and 109 victims respectively from the first five months of 2008, said Mr. Thaworn.

He said the number of defence volunteers in the deep South would be increased by 1,800 from about 5,900 now.

Even as the deputy interior minister charged that militants wanted to “discredit” the government with their recent frequent attacks, more violence was reported in Yala early Wednesday when four young gunmen travelling on two motorcycles sprayed bullets on construction workers.

A female worker was shot dead while two male workers were wounded and sent to hospital for treatment.

The four unidentified gunmen escaped from the scene and are still at large.

-- TNA 2009-06-10