Emergency decree extended in 3 provinces

The cabinet will extend the emergency decree in three provinces in the deep South for another three months.

Deputy government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the new round of the decree will run from April 29 to July 28 in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

Only Mae Lan district in Pattani is excluded due to improved conditions.

Deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the National Security Council was revamping its methods after the government issued a special law on administration of the deep South.

The government has also appointed a new Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) secretary-general. It will form a team to implement the SBPAC's policies, said Mr Suthep.

Southern border police chief Pol Lt Gen Phaithoon Chuchaiya yesterday ordered police in the deep South to step up security in five towns of the three beleaguered provinces over the Songkran holidays to prevent insurgent violence and road accidents.

The five towns are Muang districts of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, Betong district of Yala, and Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district.

Pol Lt Gen Phaithoon said yesterday he had called a meeting of 159 police unit chiefs in the three provinces and four districts in Songkhla.

Bangkok Post

Roadside Bomb in Narathiwat, No Soldiers Injured

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NARATHIWAT, April 12 – A ten-man military patrol was ambushed in Narathiwat this morning, involving a remote-controlled bomb and gunfire from an undetermined number of assailants.

The presumed anti-government insurgents left the site of the incident after the bomb exploded after after apparently failing to function properly. The soldiers who were the intended target were not injured as they patrolled a section of railway track in Narathiwat's Rangae district early Tuesday morning.

Inspecting the scene after the gunmen fled, the authorities found spent M16 assault rifle bullet casings, scattered fragments of the remote-controlled bomb and a fire extinguisher.

Pol Lt Gen Paitoon Chuchaiya, commissioner of the southernmost police unit on Tuesday met with 160 officers working in the three southern border provinces and four districts in Songkhla to review and follow up progress in investigation of important cases and police operations in the past month.

He ordered them to work in cooperation with one another and to maintain tightened security during Songkran to prevent possible insurgent attacks and reduce road accidents.

Gen Paitoon ordered heightened security in all community areas as well as areas where there have been no recent attacks. The provincial seats of the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala and Nathiwat, Yala’s Betong district and Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district will be under close watch.

He told the attendees that any area where the numbers of police is insufficient can request reinforcement from the military.

In the provincial seat the public has been asked to help monitor the situation to support the authorities actions.

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