YALA, Thailand (16 Feb 2005) -- At least eight people were wounded Wednesday when four bombs exploded in southern Thailand, just hours before the prime minister started a visit to the insurgency-plagued region, officials said. One bomb went off at a college that was among the planned stops on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's tour. The school in Yala province was evacuated after the blast, and it was not immediately clear if he intended to follow through with the visit later Thursday. The device was attached to a car and went off when the owner, assistant rector Trongpot Watcharasukhum, opened the door. He and a passing student were seriously wounded in the blast, said police Col. Kitisan Thanadejsontorn. The college's rector said Trongpot had been helping the military on security matters in the unsettled region by monitoring student activities. Thaksin flew to the southern province of Narathiwat on Wednesday afternoon to begin a three-day tour to deal with escalating violence in the three Muslim-dominated provinces of the south, Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. More than 650 people died over the last year in sectarian violence, which officials blame on Islamic separatists. The prime minister told reporters before he left the Thai capital Bangkok that attacks would not interrupt his schedule. "We anticipate the bomb explosions will continue ... but the bombs will not disrupt what is planned," Thaksin said. Earlier Wednesday, a military truck in Narathiwat was the target of two bombs, also believed to have been set by Muslim insurgents, police Lt. Sanphet Tanti-Amornchai said. Thaksin went to inspect the scene shortly after his arrival. | | One of the mobile phone-triggered explosives detonated as soldiers were loading food into the truck in the province's Rangae district, injuring three soldiers and three civilians, Sanphet said. A second bomb nearby caused no injuries. A separate blast went off in the province's Ruesor district, with police reporting no casualties. The series of blasts came a day after the Cabinet approved the creation of a new infantry division of 12,000 troops to be permanently based in the three troubled provinces. The division will add to more than 25,000 regular forces already stationed in the provinces _ the only ones with Muslim majorities in Buddhist-dominated Thailand. Since January last year, there have been almost-daily shootings and occasional bombings in the region, most targeting local officials and security personnel. Critics of Thaksin's "get tough" approach say greater sensitivity is needed to the aspirations of Muslim residents, who say they are regarded as second-class citizens by many officials. SOURCE - eNews |
