Soldier seized in suspected revenge raid in South
Eight armed men, wearing military-style clothing, abducted a soldier from his home in Narathiwat's Reu Soh district, the soldier's wife told police yesterday.
She said her husband had taken part in a base-protection operation on February 13, in which 16 suspected insurgents were ambushed and killed.
Dareesoh Sorpee, 22, accompanied by her husband’s parents, told Reu Soh police that Private Ma-ela Tohlu, 24, who had served at the army base in Ba Cho district that was raided by the insurgents on February 13, was visiting his home on vacation.
On Monday night, when Dareesoh went out to buy food, leaving Ma-ela and her younger brother Yakariya, 20 at home, eight men on a pickup truck raided the house and abducted Ma-ela at gunpoint, but left her brother unharmed.
Dareesoh insisted Ma-ela had no conflict with anyone – but he had told her that he and fellow soldiers had been cautioned of an insurgent retaliation and rumors that insurgents aimed to kill 32 officials to avenge the 16 deaths.
Meanwhile, two border patrol policemen, on their first day of duty after transferring from Chiang Mai to the restive region, were seriously wounded by a motorcycle bomb in Tambon Pitumudi of Pattani’s Yarang district yesterday morning. The injured were Pol Sen Sgt Major Niwet Luereung and Pol Sen Sgt Major Pornthep Waiwong, who rode a motorcycle leading the 10-strong team on motorcycles and a pick-up truck patrolling a local road. An initial probe found the Honda Wave motorbike was reported stolen years ago, while the licence plate it carried was also from another stolen vehicle.
In Songkhla, security officials are beefing up measures for public safety ahead of the Songkran Festival, after news the city might be targeted, while Hat Yai police station chief Col Adirek Beuraheng urged residents and tourists to have confidence in their security measures.
Meanwhile, Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4 Front spokesman Col Pramote Phrom-in affirmed that security on trains and southern buses had been strengthened while officials would help accommodate Songkran travellers. He added that the change in the Army region 4 top post – from General Udomchai Thammasarotrat to Lt General Sakol Cheuntrakul – celebrated in a ceremony yesterday, would be seamless and pose no obstacle to operations.
Sakol expressed hope that the National Security Council’s dialogue with separatists on March 28 would take them on the path to peace in the region and his agency would be willing to offer both information and expertise to the government’s talks.
Islamic Culture Foundation president Chamroon Den-udom said the public was interested in the NSC’s dialogue with separatists and hoped the violence would end soon. The Malay-language TV and radio committee which he chairs would also help provide information to the public and promote peace.
In related news, a “misguided” person Adeunan Pasae, 31, who was wanted for the attempted murder of a local resident on October 7, 2001 and for draft dodging, surrendered himself to police in Narathiwat’s Ra Ngae district yesterday after hiding in Malaysia.
