Businesses close amid militant attack rumours
Major trading centres across the far South were quiet yesterday in response to rumoured threats of insurgent attacks.
In Pattani municipality, most shops were shuttered yesterday, except for a few businesses run by ethnic-Chinese families.
The markets in the municipality were almost empty after word had spread that the Runda Kumpulan Kecil separatists would attack shops which do not close on Friday, which, the separatists said, is the traditional day of rest and prayer for Muslims.
A few food stalls were open at the city's main Thet Wiwat fresh market. Many petrol stations in the city's suburbs also shut off their pumps.
Many shopkeepers said they wanted to be on the safe side. They also were anxious to see how the authorities would deal with the ongoing security woes.
"They should care more about the safety of people trying to make ends meet like us. We shouldn't be living in fear," said a small trader who declined to be named.
The traders said the current situation has left them terrified and they cannot rely on anyone.
Meanwhile, plain-clothes and uniformed police officers were deployed in the city as a measure to tighten security.
In downtown Narathiwat, many shops were also closed. Similar quiet scenes were also witnessed in Yi-ngo and Rangae districts while traffic was unusually light on the main and secondary roads.
Only 50 out of 150 public shuttle vans operated from Muang district of Narathiwat to Sungai Kolok district and to nearby Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces.
Meanwhile, Rom Klao School in Narathiwat's Yi-ngo district announced it will reopen on Monday following Thursday's roadside bomb attack which injured two students on one of its school buses.
Sitinureya Baga, who suffered a broken arm in the explosion, remains under close observation by doctors, while Nadia Jehama is in stable condition.
Narathiwat governor Apinant Suethanuwong has called on parents to keep a closer watch for militants in their neighbourhoods to help prevent further bomb attacks.
Night patrols will be stepped up by authorities since bombs are planted mostly at night, he added.
Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday removed Maj Gen Supat Vichitkarn, deputy commander of the 4th Army Region, from his post as deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command's 4th region, following the school-bus blast.
Gen Prayuth was reportedly displeased with Maj Gen Supat's reaction to questions about the flawed security measures which allowed the explosion to take place, according to a military source.
Maj Gen Supat had been promoted to lieutenant general and transferred to a new post as a special adviser to the army prior to Gen Prayuth's order.
In Yala's Raman district, Mudor Malee, 60, and his wife, Sama Sosu, 61, were shot dead in a rubber plantation yesterday morning. Authorities were investigating whether the murders were linked to the southern unrest.
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