CRISIS IN SOUTH
Prem seeks solutions as killing continues
Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda visits a mosque in Pattani yesterday. While there he met with southern religious leaders to exchange ideas about solving the problems plaguing the deep South.
|
|
Four more die in violence, including elephant show owner selling tickets to children
Violence continued unabated in the deep South yesterday as four men died and two others were injured in separate incidents. The killings came as the Privy Council chief and prominent military figures met locals to discuss ways of curbing the unrest. In Yala's Muang district, the owner of an elephant troupe, Mongkhol Traiyod, 24, was shot dead by suspected Muslim insurgents while selling show tickets to children. Police said four men pretending to wait in line for tickets shot seven rounds at him before fleeing on motorbikes. The troupe was about to perform its afternoon show behind a mosque. Later, police led by Lt-Colonel Somsak Tangnapadon, deputy investigative commander in Yala, detained suspect Ibrohim Galong, 21, and interrogated him for two hours. Mongkhol's wife Banjong Ked-iam, 25, and two other witnesses were able to identify him from a line-up. Police said they would proceed with the investigation and arrest the other gunmen. According to a local news agency, Mongkhol had said in an interview this month that he feared for his safety because of the ongoing violence, but felt that his show would not be targeted. He and his colleagues toured the most violent towns of the Muslim-majority region to entertain children with his elephants, which play football, do tricks and walk on two legs. In Pattani's Yarang district, Noppadol Yamapat, 44, was shot dead by suspected Muslim militants while riding his motorbike and carrying rubber liquid to sell. Two gunmen on a motorbike fired four rounds with an 11mm pistol. He died at the scene. Later, in Kok Pho district of the same province, merchant Saroj Tantanawat, 41, was shot by two gunmen using a .38 pistol while he was riding his motorbike home. He was pronounced dead in hospital. Late on Sunday, Ausmin Jehtanee, 29, and two friends were shot outside a tea shop in Narathiwat. Police said two men on a motorcycle opened fire with an AK-47 rifle. The three victims were taken to hospital, where Ausmin died early yesterday. Meanwhile, six soldiers injured in a bombing of a motorbike shop in Narathiwat on Sunday were all in good condition in hospital. However, two of six onlookers were still in a coma. Kansak Aungpattanakul, 42, whose head and body were struck by shrapnel, was paralysed down the entire left side of his body. Police said they had interrogated four witnesses and received very useful information. They claimed at least one militant sat in a pick-up truck opposite the crime scene to detonate the bomb. Police were also able to identify the owner of a motorbike that concealed the bomb. More than 1,300 people have been killed in near-daily shootings and bomb attacks since violence re-emerged in the three southernmost provinces in January 2004. Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, Privy Council member Gen Surayuth Chulanont, Army commander Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin and several other prominent military figures visited Pattani yesterday to meet governors from Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla and Satun. After the meeting, they donated Bt30,000 to 10 temples and mosques in the five provinces. None of the generals would talk to reporters.
The Nation Yala
|
