M79 attack on fair injures 17 in south

Seventeen people, one of them a policeman, were injured when two M79 grenades were fired into local fair in Narathiwat's Bacho district Saturday.

Police said the grenades were fired into the crowded fair selling products native to the area opposite Bacho district police station at about 7.20pm.

Four security volunteers and 12 fair-goers sustained shrapnel wounds.

Some of them were also trampled by panicked people trying to flee the scene.

The injured, who were not identified, were taken to Bacho Hospital.

Authorities closed off the fair venue as forensic experts were due to arrive at the scene this morning.

Meanwhile, five people died in separtate attacks in the far South yesterday.

In Pattani, Sen Sgt Maj Mustorfa Laehae, 44, of Pattani police station, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Ban Sue Dung in Sai Buri district. He was shot in the head and died later in hospital.

In Yala's Muang district, a woman was killed and her husband seriously injured in a drive-by shooting. The victims were identified as Saowaluck Sitthiphan, 29, of Ban Na Tham in Muang district, and her husband Prinya Sitthiphan, 31, a technician at the Yala irrigation office.

They were travelling on a motorcycle around 8am in Ban Kampan in tambon Tha Sab when a gunman riding pillion on another motorcycle fired at them with a handgun.

Also in Yala, a woman was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting on the Yala-Batong road at Ban Ka Sode in Bannang Sata district. Duangnate Kamsri, 34, of tambon Tham Thalu in Bannang Sata, was shot in the torso.

In Yaha district, Kuem Sukkarn, 72, a resident of tambon Tachi, was shot dead as he rode his motorcycle to a market.

In Pattani's Muang district, a traditional medicine trader was shot and killed outside the central mosque.

Mama Arwae, 43, was selling medicine at his stall when two men on a motorcycle fired shots at him. Police said Mama worked as a police informant.

In Narathiwat, a woman was killed and her husband severely wounded in a gun attack on their pickup truck in Rueso district. Sunthorn Nakthong, 50, was driving his wife Jittima through Ban Tango Patae when gunmen fired at their vehicle.

Share your thoughts

Discussion 1 : 06/10/2012 at 01:42 PM
Surely boobytraps targeting plantation workers, killing of buddhist monks, roadside bombs or throwing granades into markets cant be an insurgency that is carried by a silent majority. Muslims go to markets too or was it a buddhist only market? Surely muslims too occupy those cities were carbombs explode go to markets and shops? These muslims face no oppression or discrimination under thai rule. I dont think muslims are that unhappy like those in palestine. I dont buy that buddhists and muslims dont mix. If not with buddhism what religion does islam mix with??? I also dont believe that a majority of muslims are fundamentalists that agree with the killing of innocents of other religions. I believe they themselves are opressed by the extremeists.
Discussion 2 : 01/10/2012 at 06:56 AM
Shame on the Thai Government. Every day these thugs are killing innocent Thai people and the Gov does nothing but pick up the dead. When is someone in this Government going to do something. I can't believe Thai people stand for this. Amazing. Any other country would send in the military and find these thugs and kill them. Here in Thailand they do nothing.
Discussion 3 : 30/09/2012 at 11:02 PM
You can't blame the PTP for not solving this problem. Afterall dead democrat supporters cannot vote!
Discussion 4 : 30/09/2012 at 10:52 PM
spiceman: "Is it time to give our Israeli friends a call yet"? Here's news for you. Do you remember the Muslim the Thais believe is behind the unrest in the south Abdel Basset Sayda, lives in excise in Sweden, Remember? Well he had talks with President Putin on July 11th because he is the leader of the US-backed opposition organization, Syrian National Council, and tolled by Putin not to attempt to outst Assad! Now all you have to do is connect the dots.
Discussion 5 : 30/09/2012 at 09:53 PM
d4: Why would the regime care about Thais in south Thailand? They did not vote for the fugitive ...
Discussion 6 : 30/09/2012 at 08:26 PM
When will we see the yellowshirts, the redshirts the monks and all the real Thai people go on the street and ask the goverment to solve the problem in the south ?? WHEN ??...where is all the Thai unity ..???.... Wake up Thai people ...the problem will become bigger and bigger because the terrorist r free to do what they want .....no arrest just freekilling
Discussion 7 : 30/09/2012 at 08:16 PM
Its the real war in the south except that just the terrorist r fighting, the thai people r just getting killed ...where is the law ???? where is the police ?? the army ??? the goverment euuhhh ok the goverment is too busy bringing back the Dubai man ..taking soo much energy to bring back the old thaksin day ,,,its pass now we r not in 2006 anymore its 2012 now . you need help from other countrys .....you cant solve the problem by yourself because you dont have willingness..at least ask help from professsionnal.....
Discussion 8 : 30/09/2012 at 08:05 PM
Off course when the terrorist see that the goverment is scared and that they do nothing to solve the problem then the terrorist r free to do whatevr they want and thats what is hapening now ...this is the consequence. Sad for the people in the south but you have no goverment to help you ...you r alone against the terrorist
Discussion 9 : 30/09/2012 at 07:16 PM
Khun Luetzow #9, the issue is extremely complex, with both religious, political, and historical flavors. The main reason of the conflict is Islamic majority and Buddhist minority simply don't mix!
Discussion 10 : 30/09/2012 at 07:16 PM
d9: As with ALL terrorist/sepratist situations around the world, the percentage of population that are active insurgents is a very small number. However, there is always a larger percentage that are non-violent but (for some reason) feel abused by the authorities and therefore are not willing to cooperate with them in hunting down the insurgents. The most important reason for discussions is not to give the "terrorists" what they demand but rather to erode the support that they have amongst the non-violent majority.
Discussion 11 : 30/09/2012 at 02:29 PM
Unless these terrorist represent a majority in this area or they are a repressed minority they have no ground to demand any kind of Does anyone really think these psychopaths have any right and reason to be negotiated with? Are these muslims repressed in thailand? Are they marginalized? Are they beeing abused? Do they suffer repression in thailand? Are they representing a majority in thailand whos demands they want to negotiate? I understand there are some historical grounds why these states should be independent but according to wikpedia a overwhelming majority do not want to seperate. Have their been any forced expulsions of in the past? I really dont understand this insurgency.
Discussion 12 : 30/09/2012 at 01:55 PM
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." We have tried letting the army try to solve this problem and it does not work. We have tried allowing legal rights to be ignored (via the emergency decree) and it does not work.
Discussion 13 : 30/09/2012 at 11:24 AM
Is it time to give our Israeli friends a call yet? And when the so-called "airship" will be ready to be shot at over the sky of the Deep South? The whole response of the Thai Govt and Thai Military has been absolutely pathetic, while innocent people are losing limbs and lives by the thousands!
Discussion 14 : 30/09/2012 at 11:06 AM
With all of this going on, Thais would still sooner travel to, work and live in the south than do the same in Cambodia. The south of Thailand is FAR more dangerous and yet this reality hasn't truly sunk in yet. Will it ever?
Discussion 15 : 30/09/2012 at 10:37 AM
I've said it before, "if this insurgency isn't addressed now and action taken, it will expand rapidly." I'm a little surprised that more forceful action hasn't been taken to eleminate this insurgency. Holding discussions with insurgents to try and solve problems, is to them a sign of weakness.
Discussion 16 : 30/09/2012 at 10:31 AM
The whole escalation of violence in the south started when a large cache of Thai military weapons were stolen during the same time that Tak Bai occurred under Thaksins government. Now the innocent people are being attacked my poorly guarded, stolen Thai military weapons. Another attack within damn near a 24 hour period! Yet the lead-in adjacent larger picture shows the Yingluck with mouth agape talking about a shake up and reorganization in the Shinawatra brother/sister government in an effort to have absolute, uncompromising control without opposition of this Shinawatra “democracy”. Here’s a clue Pheau Thaksin government, you bought your way into power 1 year ago. The floods are here again and people are being killed daily in the south; stop thinking about your power grab and serve the country. Get your priorities in order; Thais are being slaughtered every day
Discussion 17 : 30/09/2012 at 10:05 AM
Thing are getting worse instead of better.But what do you expect the only way the authorities know is more troops and in turn that causes more violence. Come on it is time to start talking.The longer you leave it the weaker your bargaining platform.
Discussion 18 : 30/09/2012 at 09:58 AM
Dis 1 Hahahahha i quote you don't go out and blow somebody up because you're having a bad day or have a different relegious belief, Are you lonely on you planet or living in a bubble of never never land.Read the news paper Syria , Pakistan ,Afganistan India , Phillipenes, Iraq, Bahrain and not that long ago 9-11 Ireland the world is Scre#ed and all because of religeon and bloody fanatics. Step outside smell the world.
Discussion 19 : 30/09/2012 at 02:14 AM
Imagine a group of crazed dissidents roaming around LA County, similar land area to the South of Thailand, armed with military grade war weapons and carrying our random acts of severe violence on a daily basis. How long do you think they'd stay alive? About two or three days tops, before the combined might and full force of the police and military would stomp them out like roaches in a spotlight. Civilized societies simply cannot allow anarchy and chaos to rule their lives. Government needs to take control, restore order and build confidence. Sit down with all the aggrieved parties and figure out how to address the issues and reconcile the differences. You don't go out and blow somebody up, just because you're having a bad day or have different relegious beliefs.

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