Authorities monitor situation in Thai far South during Ramadan

YALA, June 29 (TNA) - Security authorities concerned will monitor the situation in the Muslim-dominant Thai far South during the forthcoming fasting month of Ramadan, as it is a gauge of outcome from peace talks between the Thai government, through the National Security Council (NSC), and representatives of insurgent groups, led by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) militant movement. NSC Secretary General Lieutenant General Paradorn Pattanatabutr, who is visiting the Thai deep South, made the comments on Saturday (June 29), when he held a meeting with local Muslim religious leaders and people in Yala Province to gather their opinions on demands aired recently by the BRN group and on the authorities' attempts to reduce violence during Ramadan, expected to begin on July 9-10, 2013. Lieutenant General Paradorn's remarks followed a latest violent incident in the southernmost Thai region earlier in the day, in which eight soldiers were killed and four others, including two civilians, were wounded in Yala's Krong Penang District due to a roadside bomb attack. The NSC chief said he will find out from the BRN which militant group was responsible for the latest violence, taking place while 10 soldiers left their base and were travelling on a truck to visit their family members. Meanwhile, police in nearby Songkhla Province told reporters that they have collected enough evidence from Friday’s bomb explosion outside a teashop in Na Thawi District, which killed a former border patrol police officer and wounded six other people. (TNA)