Security has been stepped up at and around the youth centre in the Yala municipality of Yala province, where the traditional Lak Phra festival, or Buddha procession festival, begins today, marking the end of the Buddhist Lent, despite threats by insurgent groups to disrupt the event.
Three pipe bombs went off near the scene of the festival, which lasts until Friday, but no one was hurt. Police believe that the bombings were committed by insurgents, intending to intimidate Thai Buddhists, who constitute the minority in the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
The Lak Phra festival features a Buddha image, revered by the local Buddhists, being placed on a wheeled carriage and towed by men pulling the carriage by rope. The three-day festival also features several traditional forms of entertainment, such as Menorah dances, shadow performances and a decorated boat competition involving several temples in the province.
The festival’s organisers say the event will proceed as usual, despite the explosions last night. A number of vendors, who set up stalls at the festival ground, admitted, however, that the number of visitors might be reduced due to safety concerns.
File photo: the traditional Lak Phra festival
Two violent incidents, allegedly perpetrated by insurgent groups, were reported on Sunday and Tuesday.
On Sunday night, in Su-Ngai Kolok district of Narathiwat, about 20 armed men robbed a gold shop in a shopping mall, wounding an army officer and escaping with gold ornaments worth about 34 million baht.
On Tuesday morning, a group of insurgents blew up an ATM in front of an Islamic university in Yarang district of Pattani. While they failed to get the money out of the machine, they did manage to snatch two shotguns from security guards at the university.
