More districts may be put under curfew

Encouraged by the success of the dusk-to-dawn curfew in two Yala districts, the military is now considering extending it to a few more districts in the restive South.

Narathiwat's Rangae and Rusoh districts will be next as they are hit hard by constant violence, Army spokesman Akra Thiproj said yesterday.

Narathiwat governor Karan Supakitvilekkarn was quick to say the situation in his province was not that critical. Violence may be frequent but not as brutal as in Yala, he said.

The curfew declared on Thursday for Yala's Yaha and Bannang Sata districts greatly helped troops limit the movements of militants, Akra said.

Officers managed to surround many locations in Yaha and caught seven suspects that night, he said, without indicating whether the group was directly linked to any specific incident. The ban on people leaving their homes between 8pm and 4am was imposed after eight Buddhists were massacred in a commuter van and 11 Muslims were wounded by a bomb attack on a mosque in the district on Wednesday.

Yaha and Bannang Sata are categorised by the military as red zones, where militants freely orchestrate gun, bomb and arson attacks.

The Army received good cooperation from local residents, but some 20 per cent of the population was not aware of the curfew, Akra said, adding that authorities would ramp up public relations.

Nawae Kakiyoh, chairman of Yala's Village Headmen's Club, said the military should announce a curfew in more districts in the province, especially Raman and Krong Pinang, which were hot spots like Yaha and Bannang Sata.

Narathiwat's Sungai Padi, Joh I Rong and Bacho districts and Pattani's Kho Pho are also urgent candidates, he said.

"The military should raise its standard of vigilance in all red areas," he said, adding that the curfew did not disrupt the normal lives of the locals.

"In fact, people in red zones lock themselves in after 6pm and get up to start tapping rubber in the morning," he said.

The new rule has had some social repercussions, said Yaha resident Attaya bin Isris, the owner of a gold shop.

The entire district was quiet and people had to alter their routines, he said, and were prevented from attending mosque prayers.

The curfew has not immediately ended the violence, he said, and assaults can happen during the daytime.

Yesterday four insurgents attacked a teashop in Raman district at 8.40am, wounding four people.

They used M-16 assault rifles to spray the shop with bullets while the four customers were drinking tea.

In neighbouring Pattani a policeman was shot by assailants on a motorcycle while he was riding home. Senior Sgt-Major Bounjerd Wongmanee, 57, was hit in the right cheek and taken to hospital.

The Nation

Curfew is a good alternative. Given all the free movements to both the public and the militants will hinder security in the area.