Thai DPM, army chief visit far South

BANGKOK, April 19 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapa and Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha are visiting the Thai deep South Thursday, aimed to boost security operations in the southern border region. General Prayuth told reporters before flying to the Thai far South that he has instructed concerned officers to implement strategies worked out by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), focused on security measures in urban areas and checkpoint operations. General Prayuth suggested that security operations in the Thai far South be integrated among all parties concerned, including civil servants, soldiers and staff of other relevant organizations. According to the Thai army commander-in-chief, the situation in the far South has been improving and violent attacks have dropped although concerned authorities need to continue taking precautions. Asked if security authorities take any special precaution during the anniversary of the so-called Krue Se crackdown later this year, the Thai army chief said that concerned authorities need to be always on alert, and that the government has tried hard to restore peace in the far South through many authorities it has appointed and General Yuthasak, who oversees national security, is visiting the southernmost region to make sure that the concerned authorities are working in the same direction. Upon arriving in the insurgency-plagued southern border region, the Thai deputy premier and the army chief attended a meeting at the ISOC's southern office located inside the Sirindhorn Camp in Yala Province to discuss progress in official investigations on a spate of car bombings in Yala province and in Hat Yai of Songkhla province on March 31 and to brief concerned authorities of official policies. In nearby Narathiwat province, local security officers, meanwhile, inspected Baan Ta Ngo School in Cho Ai-rong district which was targeted by an arson attack last night and the scene of a related bombing targeted at the motorcade of Police Colonel Prayong Khotsakha, chief of the Cho Airong police station. There were, however, no casualties in both the arson and the bomb attack. (TNA)