Officials deny rumours, put teachers' death to shrapnel
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Insurgents and the authorities are blaming each other for the death of two female government teachers who lost their lives in a roadside bomb attack in Narathiwat on Wednesday.
Military spokesman Colonel Pramote Promin said yesterday that the results of the autopsies performed on the two victims indicated they died from shrapnel wounds to the head after the blast. The bomb is thought to have been intended for a military vehicle that was also in the area.
After the explosion, the two teachers lost control of their vehicle, which plunged into a canal. Autopsy concluded that Nusyahan A-wae and Nayeeha Yeera were killed by shrapnel from the homemade bomb – made from metal rods cut into pieces.
A government spokesman also refuted rumours that the two Muslim women died in crossfire between insurgents and the police.
He said that insurgent sympathisers in Narathiwat, who want locals to believe police were responsible, spread the rumours.
Insurgents and security officials alike have been cautious about reporting violent clashes during Ramadan, with each side blaming the other during the ceasefire. Ramadan ends on August 8 and the ceasefire between insurgents and government forces is expected to end a few days later.
