deep south

  • South Thailand NewsInsurgent threats in deep South as Tak Bai massacre case passes

    Insurgent threats in deep South as Tak Bai massacre case passes

    Security measures have been increased in Thailand’s deep South amidst intelligence reports suggesting insurgent groups are planning to instigate violence from today, October 26, until October 28, following the expiration of the statute of limitations for the Tak Bai massacre case. Reports indicate that these groups aim to incite violence across four provinces to mark the 20th anniversary of the…

  • Thailand NewsThailand extends TM6 form suspension to boost tourism

    Thailand extends TM6 form suspension to boost tourism

    Thailand has extended the suspension of its TM6 immigration forms until April 30 next year, a move that promises to ease cross-border tourism while a new electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system is being developed. Officials say the ETA could also streamline the collection of tourism fees. Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong revealed that the Cabinet approved the decision, which…

  • Thailand NewsThai-Malay twin-city initiative to boost southern economic growth

    Thai-Malay twin-city initiative to boost southern economic growth

    The Thai government announced a collaboration with Malaysia to promote a twin-city concept in the Deep South, aiming to stimulate economic growth and bring peace to the region. Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai recently chaired a meeting to review the progress of this initiative, which seeks to transform the longstanding conflict zones into thriving trade hubs through…

  • Thailand NewsSouth Thailand: Two vehicles used in car bomb attack on the run

    South Thailand: Two vehicles used in car bomb attack on the run

    Yala police warned the public to be on high alert for two vehicles suspected to be primed for a car bomb attack at New Year celebration events in the deep South provinces. The threat is real, and authorities are urging citizens to stay vigilant. Yala Police Station, in a bid to thwart disaster, unveiled images of the potential weaponised vehicles on…

  • South Thailand NewsEmergency decree against insurgency extended in Deep South

    Emergency decree against insurgency extended in Deep South

    While emergency decrees over the Covid-19 pandemic situation are finally a thing of the past, the continuously troubled Deep South region of Thailand has been operating under an ongoing emergency decree aimed at protecting citizens from the threat of the long-term insurgency constant in the area. The three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, are a buffer between…

  • Tourism NewsMalaysian tourist influx remains steady despite uncertainty in Thailand’s south

    Malaysian tourist influx remains steady despite uncertainty in Thailand’s south

    Malaysians are still streaming into Songkhla, despite safety concerns and uncertainties following the recent fireworks warehouse explosion and a car bombing in Narathiwat. The blasts brought ensuing speculation over safety concerns across Thailand’s southernmost provinces. But an average of 10,000 Malaysian tourists each day are visiting Southern Thailand anyway. Songchai Mungprasithichai, spearheading the Songkhla Tourism Promotion Association, expressed that the…

  • Crime NewsPolice carry out an astounding 609 drug raids yesterday

    Police carry out an astounding 609 drug raids yesterday

    Police went on a raiding rampage yesterday as if they were the drug-fueled ones, not the 319 drug rings they busted in one day. Over 200 people were arrested and drugs worth over 17 million baht were seized in over 600 locations during a series of raids in Thailand’s southern provinces on Monday. The massive coordinated raid efforts were announced…

  • South Thailand NewsThailand extends emergency decree in Deep South

    Thailand extends emergency decree in Deep South

    Thailand is extending the emergency decree in the Deep South for another three months. The decree applies to the border provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat and will run from March 20 to June 19. According to the Bangkok Post, the newest extension of the decree marks the 71st time it has been issued. The Deputy Prime Minister, Prawit Wongsuwon…

  • EducationSenior Buddhist monk’s visit to Islamic education centre in Thailand’s Deep South sparks uproar

    Senior Buddhist monk’s visit to Islamic education centre in Thailand’s Deep South sparks uproar

    A senior Buddhist monk in Thailand sparked uproar over his visit to an Islamic education centre in the south. The visit to the centre in Narathiwat province in Thailand’s south came with heavy criticism on the second day of the House debate against the Prayut government yesterday morning. According to Thai PBS World, army officials defended the visit by saying it…

  • World NewsMalaysia’s PM against the use of violence to resolve southern Thailand conflicts

    Malaysia’s PM against the use of violence to resolve southern Thailand conflicts

    Malaysia’s Prime Minister is making it clear that he is against the use of violence to resolve conflict in southern Thailand. PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is meeting with Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Government House. He says it ‘was a session for a most serious and frank exchange’ and ‘not just an ordinary diplomatic session.’ “I came here…

  • South Thailand NewsRailway bomb attack in southern Thailand injures 8 security officers

    Railway bomb attack in southern Thailand injures 8 security officers

    A bomb attack at a railway in Narathiwat province in southern Thailand yesterday injured eight subdistrict security officers. Officers at Rueso Police Station were informed that subdistrict security officers were injured by an explosion while on duty overseeing the safety of the railway line in the area of Duyae Village, Sao Or subdistrict, Rueso district. Assailants planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs)…

  • South Thailand NewsNo New Year’s Eve cheer from Deep South insurgents

    No New Year’s Eve cheer from Deep South insurgents

    New Year’s Eve sparked may have sparked hundreds of thousands of celebrations throughout the kingdom last night but festive cheer was in short supply as insurgency continued its reign of terror in the Deep South. Police reported several incidents last night intended to create a disturbance in four districts of the southern border province of Pattani last night. The incidents,…

  • South Thailand NewsDeep South emergency decree extended 3 months

    Deep South emergency decree extended 3 months

    After a recent car bombing of police apartments in the Deep South province of Narathiwat, the Emergency Situation Administration Committee decided to extend the state of emergency decree in the troubled Southern provinces. The extension means that the current state of emergency will not end on December 20 as scheduled, but will instead continue until March 19 at the earliest.…

  • South Thailand NewsTwo petrol stations bombed in southern Thailand

    Two petrol stations bombed in southern Thailand

    Two petrol stations in Pattani province in southern Thailand were bombed yesterday evening. No one was killed or seriously injured. Police believe the attacks were carried out by insurgents and possibly in retaliation to an incident on November 7 when the police killed an insurgent who bombed a petrol station in Pattani. There were seven warrants out for his arrest…

  • South Thailand NewsThai military denies torturing and killing Deep South rebel

    Thai military denies torturing and killing Deep South rebel

    The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) said peace talks with the Thai government will be harmed if they are responsible for the torture and murder of a Deep South rebel whose body was found in the Golok river, on the border of Thailand and Malaysia, last month. The tortured body of 42 year old Zahri Bin Abdullah – also known as…

  • Politics NewsThaksin libel case to touch on Krue Se, Tak Bai massacres

    Thaksin libel case to touch on Krue Se, Tak Bai massacres

    President of the National Assembly of Thailand Chuan Leekpai has acknowledged a libel charge he made about former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Chuan, who also serves as Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives, gave a lecture to members of the Democrat Party on October 28, 2012, blaming Thaksin for making “mistakes” regarding the Krue Se, and Tak Bai…

  • South Thailand NewsInsurgents bomb petrol stations & shops in Deep South

    Insurgents bomb petrol stations & shops in Deep South

    Bomb explosions were reported last night at a number of petrol stations and convenience stores in three Deep South provinces including Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani. The media reported the bomb explosions went off between 12.20am to 12.40am in six districts of Narathiwas provinces. Six branches of 7-Eleven stores, a Mini Big C in Bacho, Si Sakhon, Su-ngai Golok, Rueso, and…

  • South Thailand NewsLandmines kill 1, injure 10 in Deep South of Thailand

    Landmines kill 1, injure 10 in Deep South of Thailand

    A soldier was killed and ten people were injured after two landmines were detonated at a rubber plantation in the Deep South of Thailand yesterday. Of the ten people injured in the explosion at the rubber plantation in Kok Ko, a village in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand, six were police officers and four were civilians. The injuries to the police…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok film festival urged to avoid deep south torture movies

    Bangkok film festival urged to avoid deep south torture movies

    The Internal Security Operation Command urged Bangkok’s open-air film festival to avoid screening movies or documentaries related to torture in the deep south provinces of Thailand. The military department said the event should only bring happiness and smiles to residents. Bangkok’s open-air film festival, which rolled out the red carpet on July 7 at Laan Kon Mueng space in front…

  • South Thailand NewsOIC commends treatment of Muslims and quality of life in Thailand

    OIC commends treatment of Muslims and quality of life in Thailand

    The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation hailed Thailand as a shining example of how well a multicultural society can coexist during a visit to the Deep South provinces. Delegates from the OIC visited 3 of the southernmost provinces in Thailand on June 29 and 30 after the Thai government invited them to come and see local religious activities, education programs, and…

  • South Thailand NewsSouthern Thai man sentenced to almost 5 decades for terrorism and other charges

    Southern Thai man sentenced to almost 5 decades for terrorism and other charges

    Southern Thailand doesn’t look like it’s headed towards peace any time soon. In the latest report on violence in the region, a man in Yala province has been sentenced to 46 years in prison yesterday after he was charged with terrorism, criminal association, and violating the firearms and explosives law. The man, along with 8 other people, was found guilty…

  • South Thailand NewsSuspected insurgent dies in military custody, court rules no foul play

    Suspected insurgent dies in military custody, court rules no foul play

    Yesterday, a court in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, ruled that there was no evidence of foul play in the case of a suspected insurgent who fell into a coma and died while being held in military custody in Pattani province in 2019. A suspected leader of an insurgency group accused 34 year old Abdullah Esomuso of being involved with a…

  • South Thailand NewsSongkhla Muslims against plan for Chinese goddess statue on mountain

    Songkhla Muslims against plan for Chinese goddess statue on mountain

    In Thailand’s tense Deep South, Muslim communities are speaking out against a plan to build a statue of a Chinese goddess on a mountain in Thepa district. The company planning to build it is TPI Polene Power Plc, a power plant operator. Many in the community around the mountain are Muslims, and an imam, who asked to remain anonymous, said…

  • South Thailand NewsBoth sides in Thailand’s Southern Insurgency agree to 40 day ceasefire

    Both sides in Thailand’s Southern Insurgency agree to 40 day ceasefire

    The Thai government and the most influential rebel group in Southern Thailand have agreed to stop violence for 40 days, from April 3 – May 14, for the holy month of Ramadan and the Songkran holidays. For the first time in the decades-long conflict, unarmed rebels will be allowed to visit their families during Ramadan. The agreement was made at…

  • South Thailand NewsMan left with shrapnel wounds after another bomb attack in Thailand’s Deep South

    Man left with shrapnel wounds after another bomb attack in Thailand’s Deep South

    A man was rushed to a hospital with shrapnel wounds on his torso after an attacker threw a bomb next to a security booth last in Yala in Thailand’s Deep South, a region with ongoing violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. Earlier that night, gunmen shot another man on a motorcycle in Bannang Sata, the same district of Yala…

  • South Thailand NewsThree injured including two bomb squad officers injured in Songkhla’s bomb blast

    Three injured including two bomb squad officers injured in Songkhla’s bomb blast

    While investigating the scene in Songkhla’s Chana district where a fisherman lost his leg when he stepped on a bomb buried underground, two explosive ordnance disposal personnel at the investigation site sustained serious injuries when another bomb exploded. They were working near a railway bridge near Ban Na subdistrict under the surveillance of police and soldiers where three militants were killed the…

  • South Thailand NewsBomb in Narathiwat explodes, monks and soldiers unharmed

    Bomb in Narathiwat explodes, monks and soldiers unharmed

    In the Deep South province of Narathiwat bordering on Malaysia, a bomb exploded this morning, with 2 monks and 2 soldiers narrowly escaping harm. The explosion took place early this morning on the side of the road in Rueso district of the province that often sees violence and bombings from local insurgents. As is common for Buddhist monks in Thailand,…

  • Thailand NewsPolice track down suspect in human trafficking case in Narathiwat

    Police track down suspect in human trafficking case in Narathiwat

    Police tracked down a 29 year old suspect in a human trafficking case after he reportedly transferred wages to people who were smuggling Burmese migrants into Thailand. The suspect, identified as Arnas Oo-ma, was tracked down and arrested by the Crime Suppression Police in Narathiwat’s Su-ngai Kolok district, an area in Thailand’s Deep South by the Malaysian border. Back in…

  • Covid-19 NewsCovid-19 falling, even in Deep South, but still dire in Chiang Mai

    Covid-19 falling, even in Deep South, but still dire in Chiang Mai

    According to the Ministry of Public Health, the good news is that, throughout Thailand, Covid-19 infection rates are successfully falling. The bad news is that Chiang Mai, traditionally a popular tourist and expat living destination, is a notable exception to the rule, with an increasingly dire situation on the ground there. Infection numbers in the Deep South of Thailand continue…

  • Covid-19 NewsPattani Covid-19 spike fills nearly all field hospital beds

    Pattani Covid-19 spike fills nearly all field hospital beds

    In the Deep South province of Pattani, health officials are reporting that field hospital beds are about full with 4,000 patients in care as Covid-19 numbers surge in the region. The Pattani Provincial Public Health Office is racing to create community isolation treatment centres to house up to 10,000 patients as Covid-19 infections continue to mount. The region is imposing…