NARATHIWAT: Two monks, including an abbot, have been killed and two others injured after a group of 10 men sprayed bullets into their cubicles at a Buddhist temple in Sungai Padi district.
A joint team of police, soldiers and the district chief arrived at the scene at Wat Rattananuparb in Ban Poh Deng after being alerted at around 8.30pm on Friday.
Phra Kru Prachote Rattananurak, the district chief monk and abbot of the temple, was found dead along with one other monk. Two other monks were also injured and taken to Sungai Padi Hospital. Phra Prawate Sookkaew and Phra Tanachote Chumlert are now out of danger, a hospital spokesman said.
Nearby residents told investigators they saw a group of men in black dressed like soldiers riding motorcycles in the direction of the temple. Upon entering the gate, they shot several rounds into the cubicles and escaped.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha condemned the temple shootings.
Phra Kru Prachote Rattananurak, chief of the monks in Sungai Padi district and abbot of Wat Rattananuparb, was shot dead along with another monk at the temple on Friday. (Photo by Wadaeo Harai)
“The prime minister denounced such a brazen attack and instructed officials to investigate and find the assailants to punish them,” said government spokesman Buddhipongse Punnakanta
The atrocity capped a day of violence in Ban Poh Deng. A bomb was detonated at 7.30am in Ban Poh Deng when a soldier and five paramilitary rangers were patrolling a road. No one was injured.
The second bomb was detonated by ambushers in the afternoon, wounding five members of a security team patrolling a road along a railway track.
Violence has been escalating almost daily in the three southernmost provinces, particularly Narathiwat, since late last year, even as authorities say they hope to pursue peace talks with insurgents.
The death toll in the South dropped to a record low last year as the government tightened its security web, but violence has boiled over in recent days, raising concerns about soft targets at schools and religious institutions.
In the past, Buddhist monks have been targeted only infrequently.
But they have been told to suspend morning alms collection starting from Saturday in the three southern provinces, and security officials have been asked to step up protection of Islamic leaders who could also be at risk.
Human Rights Watch, noting that at least 23 monks had been killed since the insurgency resumed in 2004, called the assault “ghastly” and a war crime because gunmen went after civilians and a place of worship.
Last week, an imam in Narathiwat was shot dead but it was unclear if the temple attack was related.
In a rare public statement dated Jan 4 the main Malay-Muslim rebel group — the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) — which has command and control over most of the insurgent foot soldiers, swore to “keep fighting”.
“Siam can’t hold out,” the BRN wrote, signing off with a warning: “Do not help and support Siam.”
Security analyst Don Pathan said the uptick in violence was connected to efforts from Thai negotiators and Malaysian facilitators across the border to “pressure the BRN ruling council to come to the table without offering possible concessions”.