Weapons And Ammunition Found In Thailand's Far South

[Lite Beer]

Weapons and ammunition found in searches by officials in far South

By THE NATION ON SUNDAY.

Abhisit sees progress in south but unhappy that fatal attacks continue

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insisted yesterday that the government was moving in the right direction in its efforts to counter to insurgent violence in the deep South but said the progress was not satisfactory.

"The government is tackling the problem in the right direction. The number of violent incidents has clearly decreased, but it's still not satisfactory because there are still people who get killed," he said during a speech at the King Prajadhipok Institute. He said his government had been successful to a certain extent in revoking the state of emergency in four districts in Songkhla and Mae Lan district in Pattani.

The prime minister said unrest still persisted in areas such as Tak Bai district in Narathiwat, where there was a severe crackdown many years ago. He called on the authorities and local residents to join forces to resolve the crisis.

In regard to recent insurgent attacks in municipal areas in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, Abhisit said it was agreed at his meeting with Army and police chiefs and provincial governors that the attacks resulted from insurgents' dissatisfaction about rigid searches by the authorities.

As Thai authorities continued operations against the insurgency and seized many weapons yesterday, Pattani Governor Nipon Narapitakkul ordered that security be beefed up in economic areas in 12 districts after the intelligence sources warned that banks, gold shops and hotels were at risk of attacks. He also urged the business sector to check on the state of existing security cameras and add cameras if possible.

A 50-strong team of police and officials yesterday morning unearthed a machine-gun and 411 rounds in a rubber plantation of Ban Sam Yaek Moo 6 in Narathiwat's Waeng district. Using a metal detector, the officials located the .50 NATO machine-gun and assorted ammunition buried one metre underground. They also arrested a male suspect found at the plantation for interrogation. They will examine the weapon and ammunition to see if they has been used in insurgent attacks.

Meanwhile, a Navy special task force surrounded a targeted rubber plantation in Ban Tamnop in Narathiwat's Muang district yesterday and engaged in a 20-minute gunfight, during which Petty Officer 1st class Paiwal Phothisopa, 29, got a gunshot wound to the face and an unnamed insurgent was killed.

Another ranger team was ambushed by three or four insurgents while on the way to a village in Tambon Sri Banphot in Si Sakhon district. The insurgents fled after a brief gunfight.

Following a lead about the movements of an unknown armed group on the local mountain, the rangers searched four targeted shacks and seized 100 items, including an HK .33 assault rifle and 34 rounds, a shotgun with 4 rounds, one kilogram of traffic spikes and some medical supplies. They arrested a suspect for interrogation.

The authorities will run DNA tests on the items found. The HK .33 assault rifle was initially reported to belong to volunteer Ranger Arun Sangthong, who was killed on December 31, 2009, and the shotgun belonged to Sergeant Kittichai Kanthang, who was shot dead on October 6 last year.

-- The Nation 2011-02-27

[SomTumTiger]

Weapons found the south? Shocker!

[jayjay0]

Just a thought

Do you suppose the stepped up violence in some areas is just a effort to regain control of the people?

[surangw]

any of it that can be traced to the stuff taken off the plane that was hauling arms to the mid east a while back?