Manhunt for gunmen who killed four in Narathiwat
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Manhunt for gunmen who killed four in Narathiwat

Nine-year-old girl and 76-year-old blind woman among victims

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Fourth Army Region chief Lt Gen Paisan Nusang, second from right, visits Narathiwat province on Saturday following two deadly shooting incidents in Tak Bai and Chanae districts on Friday. (Photo: Abdullah Benjakat)
Fourth Army Region chief Lt Gen Paisan Nusang, second from right, visits Narathiwat province on Saturday following two deadly shooting incidents in Tak Bai and Chanae districts on Friday. (Photo: Abdullah Benjakat)

The head of the army in southern Thailand has condemned the gunmen responsible for the brutal murder of four people, including a nine-year-old girl and a 76-year-old blind woman, in Tak Bai and Chanae districts of Narathiwat province.

Fourth Army Region chief Lt Gen Paisan Nusang said on Saturday that he had ordered an extensive manhunt to apprehend the perpetrators of the “inhumane” acts.

Lt Gen Paisan visited Narathiwat following two deadly shooting incidents that occurred on Friday in the two districts.

The attacks, which targeted Thai Buddhist civilians, left four dead and three injured.

At Ai Bue Tae village in tambon Chang Phueak of Chanae, Lt Gen Paisan called a meeting that brought together security officials and residents — mainly Thai Buddhists — to reassure the community and express his condolences.

He ordered heightened security, especially for vulnerable groups that may be targeted by attackers, while condemning the attacks as “inhumane and barbaric”, pointing out that the assailants targeted defenceless civilians.

One of the incidents occurred on Friday afternoon in Ai Bue Tae when gunmen opened fire on a mother and son, who were riding a motorcycle.

The mother, a 76-year-old blind woman, was killed instantly while her 50-year-old son sustained critical injuries.

Later that evening, six armed men on three motorcycles attacked a house in tambon Khosit in Tak Bai, firing multiple rounds.

Three people, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed, and two injured.

Authorities believe the attacks were carried out by separatist groups.

Further investigations will be conducted, with security forces ordered to close off escape routes and tighten security.

Lt Gen Paisan said he believed the attacks came as a response to authorities’ recent proactive measures to arrest suspects linked to southern insurgent groups.

Violence frequently rocks the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, where separatists seek greater autonomy for the predominantly Muslim region. More than 7,000 people have died since 2004 when the insurgency restarted after being dormant for many years.

However, attacks on unarmed civilians in residential areas remain relatively rare, with most targeting security personnel.

Tensions have risen in the past year, ever since a court in Bangkok dismissed the long-delayed Tak Bai case, brought by victims’ families against seven state officials, when the statute of limitations expired.

The case stemmed from an incident in 2004 when security forces shot into a crowd of protesters outside a police station in Tak Bai in Narathiwat, killing seven. Subsequently, 78 others suffocated to death in the back of military trucks after they were arrested. No one has ever been prosecuted.

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