Attack mars Visakha Bucha

The late-morning attack took place in the Muslim-majority southern province on Visakha Bucha Day and prompted local authorities to heighten security for Buddhists heading to temples to mark the holiday. 

Police suspect that Muslim insurgents detonated the bomb in Pattani’s Sai Buri district as a pickup truck carrying the six soldiers passed by. The device was estimated to contain about 30 kilograms of explosives.

Those killed in the blast were Captain Subin Puangmanee, Sergeant Chayaphol Muangkaew, Sergeant Mongkol Polpakdi and volunteers Anucha Wongsawat and Vichayapol Sathong-aen, while volunteer Ronnarit Chaowong suffered severe injuries.

The rangers were on their way to help security forces provide safety for Buddhists travelling to local temples. The improvised bomb was hidden under the road’s surface and wired to a trigger behind a bush. 

“Five rangers are dead, including the commander who succumbed to his injuries,” Sergeant Montri Prommee of Sai Buri police said. He added that insurgents wanted to stir unrest on important days. 

“The insurgents are trying to cause chaos,” Fourth Army Commander Lt-General Sakol Chuentrakul said.

Analysts say the rebels are using increasingly sophisticated bomb-making and detonation techniques to cause more casualties.

A security official in the deep South said the attack might have been held to avenge the death of a leading insurgent who was killed in a shoot-out with security officers. 

Maso Jehloh, a 42-year-old leader of Barisan Revolusi Nasional’s Ronda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), was shot dead on  Wednesday in Narathiwat in a shoot-out with a group of soldiers. 

In a related development, suspected RKK leader Roning Rohing, 30, and another suspected insurgent, Abdulkodir Woma, 37, were arrested in Narathiwat’s Rusoh district yesterday. A team of some 50 soldiers and policemen, acting under the martial law that is in effect in the region, laid siege to the house early in the morning before making the arrests. Abdulrohing Dahiso, a third suspect believed to have been hiding at the house, managed to get away.

The suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in a number of attacks in several areas of the deep South, with some dating back to 2006. They were also held responsible for the death of two soldiers and a policeman in these attacks.

Meanwhile, in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat yesterday, the Buddhist holiday of Visakha Bucha was celebrated in broad daylight in contrast to the candle-lit wien thien ritual held at night in other parts of the country. Local authorities cited security reasons for this. 

In Narathiwat, the wien thien ceremony began shortly after noon at a local temple and was attended by some 40 devout Buddhists, who all prayed for peace in the region. 

In Pattani, Fourth Army Area spokesman Colonel Pramote Phrom-in confirmed that local temples were asked to hold the ceremony in the afternoon for security reasons, adding that soldiers were on standby to guard monks and lay people. 

In Yala, Governor Dechrat Simsiri presided over the wien thien ceremony at Weluwan Temple under tight security shortly before noon.

On Thursday another ranger was killed alongside a suspected militant in a late-night shoot-out in Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia, after a Buddhist grocer was gunned down in broad daylight the previous day.

This week’s bloodshed follows the official peace talks between Thai authorities and BRN representatives in Malaysia in March and another round in April. Since then, near-daily deadly attacks have renewed questions over whether Thailand is making any effort to negotiate with rebel leaders who can control the violence. 

Buddhist and Muslims alike have been victim to the insurgents, who target security forces, civilians and perceived representatives of the state, such as teachers.

In April, rebels involved in the talks said they wanted “liberation” from Thailand, something Army chief General Prayuth Chano-cha rejected on Wednesday during a trip to Yala.