Yala police chief moved

POL MAJ-GENERAL Thanongsak Wangsupha, chief of Yala police, has been transferred to an inactive post at the Royal Thai Police Operations Centre.

Thanongsak was instructed to report to the centre yesterday.

The order, which was signed by national police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang on Sunday, resulted in Southern Border Police Operation Centre deputy commander Maj-General Somsak Chantaping being made acting Yala police chief.

Although no reason was cited in the transfer order, it is believed the transfer stemmed from Yala being rocked by 38 small bomb attacks from Thursday to Saturday that left more than 20 people injured and a lot of property damaged. 

Army commander General Udomdej Sitabutr dismissed a rumour that the Yala bombings would also lead to the transfer of Yala Task Force Commander Maj-General Somsak Nilbanjerdkul. 

Udomdej said he had instructed officers during his visit to Yala on Sunday to adjust their security plans to boost intelligence, strategies and relations with the public.

Meanwhile, a source at the intelligence agency monitoring the deep South revealed that besides the 38 explosions in Yala, another 10 dud bombs were discovered.

It was suspected that militant Masugri Mama allegedly led 60 other insurgents in the planting the bombs, the source said. 

Following the Yala bombings, the authorities discovered two cars, reportedly stolen from Narathiwat, near the bombing scene, the source said. Officials were on the lookout for a third pickup truck whose owner was killed during the hijacking of the vehicle in Yala’s Bannang Sata district on Thursday.

The agency had warned Pattani’s Muang district that it could face a similar attack, the source said.

 

Tight security as school year begins

National police spokesman Lt-General Prawut Thawornsiri said the first day of the new school year went well yesterday in the deep South, with security personnel on hand to protect teachers and students. 

While all schools in Pattani and Narathiwat opened, some Yala schools didn’t open as the students and teachers were still shaken up by the bombings, he added. 

Yala Governor Samart Waradisai visited the Ban Tha Sab School in Muang district to observe security measures. 

In Bangkok yesterday, Prawut said more than 3,000 police officers were deployed to keep traffic around various schools under control, an operation that went smoothly. 

Traffic police would remain in school areas for the next three weeks to prevent widespread traffic congestion, he said.