Top rangers transferred over Pattani raid deaths

Top rangers transferred over Pattani raid deaths

The commander of the 41st Rangers Regiment and his deputy have been transferred after a fact-finding panel ruled that the four men killed in a raid in Pattani's Thung Yang Daeng district on March 25 were not militants and were unarmed, reports said.

Under an order signed by Lt Gen Prakarn Cholayuth, the 4th Army commander, Col Pichet Chutidecho, commander of the 41st Rangers Regiment, was transferred to temporary duty at the 42nd Army Circle in Senanarong military camp in Hat Yai district of Songkhla for one year, effective from April 20.

His deputy, Col Sithisak Jenbanchong, was transferred to temporary duty at the joint operations centre of the forward headquarters of the Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) at Sirindhorn camp in Pattani's Yarang district.

Rangers from the 41st regiment, which is based in Yala's Raman district, were involved in the raid on a house under construction in Pattani's Thung Yang Daeng district following a tip-off  that some militants were there plotting an attack in the district.

Four men were killed in the raid and 22 other people detained for questioning.

A fact-finding panel was set up by Isoc after receiving complaints from relatives of those killed. The panel found early this month that the four were not militants and were not carrying any weapons at the time of the raid.

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