Attack which left M'sian man dead not related to Tak Bai's anniversary - Thai army

The attack on a police's checkpoint in Tak Bai two days ago which killed a Malaysian man happened almost two weeks before the anniversary of one of the bloodiest incidents in southern Thailand which still aroused a sense of dissatisfaction among the local population.

The Tak Bai incident which claimed the life of 86 local men occurred on Oct 25, 13 years ago and despite more than a decade has passed, it still remained a highly controversial issue among people in the southern provinces.

While many alleged the Sunday night's attack which claimed the life of Wan Mohd Zain W.Hussin, 46, a cook from Kelantan was part of a broader plan by militant group to step up retaliatory attacks leading up to the anniversary, Thailand's Fourth Army Region disputed this notion.

According to its commander Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich, the attack was not linked with the anniversary of Tak Bai incident but more likely was an attempt by militants to warn the authorities and local population of their undiminished ability to create violence.

"It could be staged by someone who wanted to show they still muster the potential to create violence and sow fear on local people, scaring them (local population) from giving any cooperation to the authorities," he told Bernama when contacted.

He said the four unidentified armed men on a pickup truck who sprayed bullets on the checkpoint could also just wanted to target the security officers manning the facility. The security forces collected more than 50 spent bullet casings from the scene of the attack as part of their investigation.

A regular traveller to southern Thailand as he had many relatives in Narathiwat, the late Wan Mohd Zain could just be unlucky for being at "the wrong place, at the wrong time" and struck by bullets while transiting the many checkpoints in Narathiwat.

The body of the single father has been claimed by his family and sent back to Kampung Ketil in Kelantan for burial.

Despite the latest incident, Piyawat said the overall security situation in southern Thailand, which is under the purview of the Fourth Army Region, has improved greatly with more local people giving cooperation to the authorities while the local economy is flourishing.

"I witnessed for myself that the local people gave more cooperation to the authorities and we could also see various businesses in the deep south (southern Thailand) such as gas stations, car showrooms, restaurants and other shops along the roads and beaches," he said.

The government according to him, has put in place economic initiatives as another measure to solve the conflict in the region and the result has been encouraging with improved security situation and local economy that is starting to thrive.

Meanwhile, investigators believed the attack on Tak Bai's checkpoint two days ago was perpetrated by a militant group headed by a certain "Famee Mudo" who has been active in the district and its surrounding areas.

According to Tak Bai police chief Col Phacaraphon Na Nakhon, Famee was also responsible for an attack on another checkpoint in the district about five years ago and made him the prime suspect behind the latest violence.

Investigators according to the local media also inspected a spot where a 25-kg improvised bomb was detonated not long after the attack on Tak Bai's checkpoint, which they believed was aimed at a convoy transporting the police chief.

The bomb attack failed to strike its intended target, but the police chief had to delay his trip.

-- BERNAMA