Thailand focuses on overcoming the consequences of a series of sabotage attacks in the South

On March 23, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the government is providing support and compensation to the victims of 44 arson attacks that occurred the day before in four southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla, where large Muslim communities live.

According to a VNA correspondent in Bangkok, Prime Minister Srettha has ordered Police General Kittirat Phanphet, acting national police chief, to investigate the series of arson cases and develop a plan to compensate and support the victims. He also had a phone conversation with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim to discuss the incident.

Police investigate at the scene of a bomb attack in Narathiwat, Thailand, November 22, 2022. Illustration photo: AFP/TTXVN

Malaysia is currently playing a coordinating role in peace talks between the Thai government and insurgents in the country's south. Some of the insurgents are believed to have dual Thai-Malaysian citizenship.

Mr Srettha said the attackers may have wanted to show off their strength after security measures in Thailand’s deep south were eased. However, the government needed more information to better understand the latest outbreak of violence.

In the recent wave of violence, attackers are accused of setting fire to more than 40 locations to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which took place from March 11 to April 9, in southern Thailand. According to the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Command, the attacks occurred at 44 locations in four provinces from 1:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on March 22. Most of the incidents occurred in Pattani with 23 locations, followed by Yala (12 locations), Narathiwat (7 locations) and Songkhla (2 locations). One victim was confirmed to be a Myanmar woman who worked as a construction worker at a gas station in Mayo district, Pattani province.

According to the latest announcement from Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsutin, the Thailand Health Promotion Fund (ThaiHealth) has received additional funds from the World Bank (WB) to continue its disaster relief project for people in the far south of the country.

According to VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper

Source: https://www.baoquangbinh.vn/quoc-te/202403/thai-lan-tap-trung-khac-phuc-hau-qua-loat-vu-tan-cong-pha-hoai-o-mien-nam-2216783/