Insurgents attempting to attract int'l organisations: Prayuth
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Insurgents behind the violence in the south have used their attacks to draw attention from international organisations in a bid to draw them into the problems, Army Commander in Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said Monday.
“The problems are the country’s internal affairs and we are making our best efforts to deal with them. The presence of international organisations would certainly complicate the problems,” Prayuth said.
The insurgents, he said, had tried their best to draw the agencies into the problems by instigating more violence in southernmost provinces.
They used attacks to create more violence so that people would be more fearful and refuse to cooperate and give information to the authorities, he said.
On Sunday, insurgents in Pattani launched an attack on a naval security outpost in Sai Buri district, drawing a relief force into an ambush trap where a roadside bomb and gunfire wounded six marines.
Insurgents attacked the outpost with automatic weapons at around 6pm for 10 minutes. The gunfight prompted calls for reinforcements.
However, about 600 metres from the outpost, the pickup truck carrying the 10 marines was blasted by roadside bomb, which was followed by gunfire from the insurgents. The marines returned fire and repelled the attackers after a gunfight that lasted 10 minutes. Six of them, including the leader, suffered injuries.
Military sources said both attacks were likely carried out by insurgents active in areas between Ka Pho and Sai Buri districts, and Raman district in neighbouring Yala.
