Army chief visits Thai far South

BANGKOK, July 3 (TNA) - Army Commander-in-Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha is, again, visiting the Muslim-dominant Thai far South on Wednesday to inspect progress on solutions to violent unrest in the southernmost Thai region and to assign security measures during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. After his arrival in Narathiwat Province, General Prayuth called a meeting of security agencies concerned in the three violence-plagued southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, as well as four districts in adjacent Songkhla province at the Chulabhorn military camp to discuss the updated situation. General Prayuth insisted that the Thai military always adheres to the Constitution, which prohibits the division of the nation, and soldiers deployed in the Thai far South, therefore, do whatever they can to have people of different races, religions and cultures coexist peacefully. In response to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's taking office at the defence portfolio concurrently in her recent Cabinet reshuffle, the Thai army chief pointed out that the prime minister can now speed up decisions and orders for solutions in the Thai deep South. (TNA)