Thailand tightens security following violent attacks in deep south

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra (Photo: Nation Thailand)

Bangkok – Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered heightened security measures and increased night in the country’s deep south following a series of violent attacks in Sungai Kolok, a border city in Narathiwat province, which left two security officers dead and 11 others injured.

The Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) reported that on the evening of March 8, a group of men dressed in Dawah-style Islamic attire travelled in a pickup truck, threw bombs at the district government office and opened fire on security personnel. They also detonated explosives planted in a car and a motorcycle parked outside the building.

On the same night in neighbouring Pattani province, attackers opened fire on a patrol team consisting of forest rangers and local officials in Hutaekorlae village, Sai Buri district. While there were no casualties from the initial gunfire, a bomb exploded shortly afterward, killing one person and injuring two others.

The attacks occurred during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and followed a recent visit by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala provinces on February 23. This marked his first visit to the conflict-ridden region in nearly two decades. Thaksin made the trip in his role as an advisor on ASEAN affairs to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

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