Stolen Army Weapons Found In Cache Seized In Narathiwat

Stolen army weapons found in cache seized in Narathiwat

M-16 assault rifles stolen in a raid on a military camp two years ago were among the weapons and explosives discovered in Tanyong Limoh yesterday

Narathiwat – Security forces carried out a series of predawn raids in Narathiwat’s Tanyong Limoh village yesterday, uncovering a weapons and explosives cache containing guns they say were stolen in a daring heist at an army base two years ago.

The weapons were found buried behind a house in the troubled village in Rangae district, which security forces say is notorious for harboring Islamic insurgents.

The cache included two AK-47 rifles, 10 sticks of dynamite, fertilizer, 11-millimeter handguns, an M-79 grenade launcher and several hundred bullets, in addition to four M-16 assault rifles stolen from an army camp in Cho Airong on January 4, 2004 – the event that triggered a deadly wave of violence across the region.

The military-style assault saw about 30 ethnic Malay rebels execute four warrant officers before emptying the base’s weapons armory and making off with about 400 M-16 assault rifles in less than half an hour.

The raid reignited a decades-old separatist conflict the government thought it had resolved and led to the imposition of martial law in Muslim-dominated Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces.

“We have found that these guns were among those stolen from the Ratchanakarin base,” army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratakalin told a news conference yesterday.

More than 500 police and soldiers raided 10 properties in Tanyong Limoh, accompanied by Narathiwat Governor Pracha Taerat, who, local television reports claimed, had been mobbed by angry villagers after five suspected militants were arrested.

Officials later said there were attempts to mobilize villagers to block security forces, but the crowd dispersed shortly after.

Pracha slammed the media for what he said was irresponsible reporting that could inflame the already precarious situation in the three southernmost provinces.

“No villagers harassed officials or surrounded their vehicles,” Pracha said. “Such reports are mistaken, and they may create more tension in this area.

“I urge the media to check their facts before they report anything.”

Five people, including two soldiers and a defense volunteer, were seriously wounded late Sunday as suspected militants on motorcycles went on a shooting spree across the province, police said.

Suchaidee Kuleh, 20, was shot twice in the chest by gunmen while riding his motorcycle to his home in Chanae district. An hour later, 37-year-old Mamah Boleh was shot four times while taking a shower outside his home in Muang district by two men, who laid in wait before opening fire and fleeing on a motorcycle.

Village defense volunteer Burahaeng Waebusah, 40, was shot several times in Sungai Padi, while in Cho Airong, two soldiers on patrol on a motorcycle were shot and wounded by drive-by gunmen.

The attacks came as religious and community leaders called for new measures that centered on ensuring justice, recognizing Islamic traditions and culture and a less aggressive counterinsurgency approach by security forces, to tackle the unrest in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

The violence shows no signs of abating despite a heavy troop presence. More than 3,000 people have been attacked, of which about 1,200 have been killed since the raid on the Ratchanakarin base.

Source: ThaiDay 21 February 2006