ID :
77011
Wed, 08/26/2009 - 15:06
Auther :

Southern violence intensifies; Security beefup ordered

BANGKOK, Aug 26 (TNA) – An army armoured personnel carrier was targeted Wednesday morning in a remote-controlled bomb amush in Yala’s Bannang Sata district as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned of an intensified violence.

There were no casualties in the latest incident which has prompted four schools closed for safety reasons.

The violence occurred in the wake of a powerful car bomb outside a restaurant in the Narathiwat provincial seat on Tuesday, injuring 42 people, including a local district chief and a medical doctor.

An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday morning for one suspect ‘captured’ by four TV security cameras in Tuesday’s incident in Narathiwat.

Prime Minister Abhisit on Wednesday ordered security to be tightened in the wake of the attacks in the southern border provinces, conceding that he had received an intelligence update on the likely intensification of the insurgent campaign during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The prime minister said he told officials to maintain their vigilance and that he will meet with security agencies to improve operations to prevent more attacks.

Muslims in Thailand's southern provinces began to observe the fasting period of Ramadan on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Deputy Interior Minister Thavorn Senneam, who supervises the southern region, said it was earlier reported of possible car bomb attacks as some vehicles were stolen locally by suspected insurgents to carry out such an attack.

Mr Thavorn also warned that more violence is likely to occur and that intelligence work is needed to be fine-tuned to effectively respond to the situation.

In a related development of Tuesday's car bomb attack in Narathiwat, the police are gathering evidence to seek an arrest warrant for a man in his 20s later identified as Amran Ming, who has an outstanding arrest warrant in relation to the Yi Ngor car bomb attack in June. The suspect was captured by four surveillance cameras at Suan Kluay Restaurant in the municipality.

The suspect parked the car outside the restaurant at 12.15 pm as the restaurant was crowded with midday customers, many of whom were civil servants on their midday lunch break, and was picked up by a rider on a motorcycle before the bomb exploded. (TNA)

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