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Southeast Asia
69 arrested in southern Thai raids
2007-09-10
Curfew will be lifted in Yala for Ramadan

The nighttime curfew in Yaha and Bannang Sata districts of Yala will be lifted during the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan, which starts on Wednesday, Fourth Army commander Lt-Gen Viroj Buacharoon said yesterday.

Army spokesman Col Akkara Tipparoj said the 9pm-4am curfew, imposed in April under the emergency decree, would be lifted to allow Muslims to perform religious duties during the holy fasting period, which lasts for 30 days. However, other restrictions would remain in force during Ramadan.

Civilians are prohibited from wearing military or police uniforms in public and owning or operating radio transmitters. Kamnan and village heads are also to alert authorities immediately when outsiders move into the neighbourhood.

The curfew was declared in the two districts following an upsurge of violence there, including the brutal murder of monks and repeated arson. The two districts cover rugged terrain and are some of the least accessible areas for security forces.

In the district of Raman, village defence volunteer Asueming Hayeemadeng, 34, was shot dead while tapping rubber yesterday.

In Narathiwat, 69 terrorist insurgent suspects, three of them women, were arrested in raids on seven villages in Rueso district. At least 31 of them were wanted on warrants in connection with terrorist insurgent attacks in the far South, officials said. Two of them, believed to be leaders of an terrorist insurgent group, were identified as Abdulloh Pasa Lar, 33, and Maropee Marae, 35.

The arrests followed on the heels of the deaths on Saturday of two core members of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) terrorist insurgent group in Tambon Savo, also in Rueso district. Hibroheng Leekia and Sakareeya Musupe, who each had a 200,000-baht bounty on their head, exchanged gunfire with assistant village head Aleeya Maesae in a longong orchard. All three were killed.

During yesterday's raid, security forces also seized a small cache of weapons from a house. The items included rifles, handguns and cartridges as well as camouflage uniforms and urea fertiliser which can be used in making bombs.

In Narathiwat, two volunteer rangers in a pick-up truck were wounded by gunmen in Rangae district yesterday. Usueman Awaeheleh, 25, was driving Manapee Salae, 35, and two other volunteer rangers to downtown Narathiwat when their truck ran over spikes strewn on the road and suffered a flat tyre. Two gunmen then sprang out of roadside bushes and sprayed the vehicle with bullets, wounding Mr Usueman and Mr Manapee. The other volunteers shot back at the gunmen, who fled the scene.

In central Pattani, terrorist insurgents set fire to power poles and a telephone booth.
Posted by:ryuge

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