Invoking the martial law, the Narathiwat Task Force announced the imposition of a 9pm-5am curfew in Narathiwat province, effective from today, following coordinated insurgent bomb and fire attacks on 11 PTT petrol stations in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces early this morning.
The task force have announced that the insurgent attacks have necessitated the imposition of a curfew to enable security forces to perform their duty to maintain peace and order and to ensure public safety.
People in the province are prohibited from leaving their homes during curfew hours, unless it is absolutely necessary and, in such a case, a prior permit must be sought from the military, police or local officials.
Border crossings by all goods, vehicles and people, including foreigners, are now subject to increased scrutiny.
For security reasons, military personnel are empowered under martial law to search houses, individuals and vehicles and non-military officials must cooperate with the military in the performance of duties.
Today, the Thai army condemned the bomb and fire attacks on petrol stations as an inhumane act, which directly endangers the safety of life, property and public utilities in the restive region.
The attacks, which occurred almost simultaneously shortly after midnight last night, appear to have been well coordinated. They followed the same pattern, with groups of five to eight armed insurgents arriving at the petrol stations on motorcycles and placing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near pumps, detonating them as they fled.
Army Spokesman Maj-Gen Winthai Suvaree said that the attacks were a clear indication that the southern insurgent groups intend to resort to violence instead of dialogue in an attempt to settle their conflict with the government.
Such violence is totally unjustified and unacceptable and must stop, he said, as he urged all sectors of Thai society to deny support in all forms to the insurgents, either directly or indirectly, and to cooperate with the authorities by providing information which may lead to the arrest of the perpetrators and the restoration of a durable peace in the region.
Meanwhile, Lt-Gen Narathip Poynok, commander of the 4th Army Region, which is in charge of security in southern provinces, said that the violent incidents will dash public optimism that the economic situation in the region will improve this year.
He also said that a meeting will be held with security agencies over beefing up security, especially along Highway 418 where most of the petrol stations are located, to prevent the perpetrators escaping into Malaysia.
Many insurgents hold dual citizenship, Thai and Malaysian, enabling them to travel back and forth over the border with ease.
