Top-security zones to be set up in southern urban areas

Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha said yesterday that safety zones had been set up in the past in the three southernmost provinces where violence is rampant.

Now they will be introduced in commercial centres like Hat Yai and other densely populated areas, even though they would not help create a touristfriendly ambience, he said.

The zones had been devised to ensure extra security but never used in metropolitan areas in the South, especially in Hat Yai, as the operations involve troops in full combat gear, he said.

The descriptions of five pickup trucks reported missing have been released to the public in the hope that people will report them to authorities, because they might be used as future car bombs in the troubled South, he said. 

They are a grey Toyota Hilux, green Mitsubishi L200, brown Isuzu, brown Isuzu Gold Series and silver Isuzu. The five vehicles were all stolen after their drivers were shot dead by gunmen in the deep South.

The explosives used in the bombing of the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Hat Yai were contained in a cooking gas tank placed on the front passenger seat to avoid detection by hotel guards who searched only the trunks of all sedans, he said.

The areas to be declared as safety zones would be decided later, and curfews were not immediately necessary, but other measures such as increasing patrols in communities were a must, he said.

No warnings have been announced about possible terrorist attacks during the Songkran festivities in the deep South but all residents and revellers are advised to stay alert and use caution, he added.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra chaired a meeting of all agencies responsible for national security to brainstorm better peacekeeping measures. The meeting agreed that all security and intelligence activities would be integrated and constantly evaluated.

The Interior Ministry’s civil guardsmen would be fully utilised to help with local development projects and assist police and soldiers in protecting their areas.

In Pattani, where a roadside bomb attack struck on the same day as the car bomb blasts in Yala and Hat Yai, police are stepping up security and improving their work on auto theft cases to prevent stolen motorcycles and vehicles from being used in future car bomb attacks.

Used car dealers would be asked to cooperate by constantly providing registration details or quickly updating information on buyers and sellers.

Last month alone, the deep South reportedly saw 73 violent incidents taking place, leaving 56 people dead and 547 injured. Among those killed, 29 were civilians, nine were soldiers and five were civil defence volunteers. One insurgent was killed and another wounded in gunfights, Deep South Watch said.

In Narathiwat, civilians and security officials donated 87,500cc of blood after responding to a call by provincial authorities for additional supplies in case of injuries. Otype blood was the most common and some of the donations would be distributed to hospitals in Yala and Songkhla to treat the wounded.

Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda said a youth development and recreational project for children in the deep South under his support would carry on despite the bombings, which he said had surprised him.

In Songkhla, half of hotel room bookings for Songkran and Bt50 million in revenue had been lost, said Somchart Phimthanaphoonphorn, head of Hat YaiSongkhla. About onefifth of tourists remained in Hat Yai and the rest of the province.

It would take at least three months to restore full confidence among tourists, he said.