Thai security officers to discuss restive South

BANGKOK, August 5 (TNA) - Thai senior security officers will meet this Wednesday to discuss violence in the deep South while army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered for an adjustment of military actions against the insurgents operating in the area. Gen. Prayuth told journalists Sunday that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would inform the meeting that a new command centre to suppress violence in the restive South will become the key agency in giving out orders and will cooperate with the Internal Security Operations Command and the Southern Border provinces Administration Centre in quelling the violence. He said government troops must change their tactics as they will focus more on risk-prone areas while more surveillance cameras will be installed. Touching on tightening of security in Hat Yai district, near the Thai-Malaysian border, Gen. Prayuth said government troops along with administrative officials would jointly patrol in targeted areas, set up more checkpoints and search suspected cars during the last 10 days of Ramadan fasting period for Muslims. He said checkpoints will be set up in key business areas and near the Lee gardens Plaza Hotel which was hit by car bombing on March 31 while cars will not be allowed to park near it. Meanwhile, security sources said a,notorious insurgent identified as Sakariyah Samoh who is wanted by police on 10 charges on threat to security had ordered his men to make at least 10 fake car registration plates from a shop in Sadao district. Stolen cars with these counterfeit registration plates are, according to security officials, are used in car bombing incidents in the violence-plagued South. (TNA)