State of emergency to continue

The state of emergency in the deep South will be extended for another three months from Dec 20 for security reasons.

Maj Gen Patchasak Patirupanont, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, said on Monday that a meeting of the Emergency Situation Administration Committee (Esac) chaired by Gen Prawit agreed with a proposal of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4 to extend the decree in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

This was necessary on the grounds that the insurgents still had the potential to carry out violent operations in the region and amid signs they may resort to violence in various ways, Maj Gen Patchasak said.

The only districts free of restrictions are Mae Lan in Pattani, Betong in Yala plus Sungai Kolok, Sukhirin and Si Sakhon in Narathiwat. The state of emergency will continue everywhere else in the three provinces…