Sonthi to take over in South
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has formally commissioned army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin to enforce policy and strategy in the restive South, an official said yesterday.
Thaksin signed an order to endorse Sonthi's role on Thursday, a month after he assigned the commander to take charge of operations to contain violence and bring about reconciliation in the deep South.Thaksin gave Sonthi the job after a series of 40 explosions in June killed two people and injured more than two dozen others. A military official said Thaksin put Sonthi in the hot seat after his own men, including caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya, had failed to bring about stability in the region. The new order empowers Sonthi to instruct concerned agencies on the ground and to adjust plans and strategies to deal with the worsening security situation, according to the official who declined to be named. The government has struggled to restore peace to the predominantly Muslim region since separatist violence erupted at the beginning of 2004. More than 1,300 people have been killed so far, mostly local Muslims. In the latest incident, two men were killed in Pattani province on Monday. Gold merchants Somsak Khemkwa and Adulchai Romsurin were riding a motorcycle home late on Monday night when two gunmen approached them from behind and opened fire. Somsak died at the scene while Adulchai was pronounced dead at a local hospital yesterday. Police believe Muslim militants were behind the attacks. The Nation.
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