Pursuit for the murderers responsible for slaying four individuals in Narathiwat
Army chief in southern Thailand slams brutal killers after four lives are lost, including a nine-year-old girl and a 76-year-old blind woman, in Tak Bai and Chanae districts of Narathiwat province.
The Fourth Army Region boss, Lt Gen Paisan Nusang, spoke out on Saturday, ordering a widespread manhunt to track down the horrific perpetrators. These despicable acts have left many in shock.
Visiting Narathiwat following the two deadly shootings over the past week, Lt Gen Paisan met with security officials and residents, predominantly Buddhists, to assure the community and express his condolences.
The attacks, which went after Buddhist civilians, took four lives and left three injured.
In Ai Bue Tae village, Lt Gen Paisan arranged a gathering demanding heightened security, especially for vulnerable groups under potential threat. He denounced the attacks as "inhuman and barbaric", pointing out that the attackers preyed on defenceless civilians.
The first incident occurred on Friday afternoon in Ai Bue Tae when gunmen ambushed a woman and her son, who were on a motorcycle. The elderly, blind mother died instantly while her 50-year-old son was left critically injured.
Hours later that evening, six armed men on three motorcycles terrorized a house in Tak Bai's tambon Khosit, firing indiscriminately. Three people, including a young girl, lost their lives, and two were injured.
While the exact group behind these heinous crimes remains unclear, authorities suspect that separatist groups are involved.
Investigations continue with authorities locking down potential escape routes and tightening security. Lt Gen Paisan believes the attacks were a response to recent proactive measures taken by authorities to arrest suspects associated with southern insurgent groups.
Tensions have escalated in the past year after a court in Bangkok dropped the Tak Bai case, a legal dispute brought forth by the families of victims against seven state officials, due to a lapsed statute of limitations. The Court of Appeal did not prosecute anyone in connection with the event in 2004, where security forces shot into a crowd of protesters outside a police station in Tak Bai, killing seven and resulting in the suffocation deaths of 78 others when they were packed into military trucks.
This conflict is led by groups like the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), one of the key separatist movements in southern Thailand. BRN and other groups have been linked to violence in the region, with attacks often targeting both civilians and security personnel, stemming from a long-lasting insurgency aiming for greater autonomy in the Muslim-dominated southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala[2][3][5].
- The heightened security in Ai Bue Tae village was demanded by Lt Gen Paisan due to the increased vulnerability of certain groups, following the brutal attacks on civilians.
- The attack in Tak Bai's tambon Khosit, which resulted in the death of a young girl and three others, highlights the barbaric nature of the ongoing war-and-conflicts in southern Thailand.
- Lt Gen Paisan believes the recent attacks in Narathiwat province are a direct response to the proactive measures taken by authorities to arrest suspects affiliated with separatist groups.
- The general news and crime-and-justice sections have been dominated by the escalating conflict in southern Thailand, as separatist groups like the Barisan Revolusi Nasional continue to carry out attacks on both civilians and security personnel.
