Sixty Narathiwat schools shut

A soldier inspects the Kayohmadee Tambon Administrative Organisation office torched by insurgents late on Monday.

The Army said religious schools were breeding grounds for insurgents.

Meanwhile, in Narathiwat's Rangae district, gunmen shot dead Ibroheng Che-umar, 33, the village chief of Ban Lapeh, while he was driving his pickup truck.

In Yala's Muang district, Winai Suphan, 48, a staff at the provincial hydrology centre, was found dead with his eight-month-old daughter laid crying next to him. Police said two gunmen approached him from behind on a motorbike at an intersection and fired at him at close range.

The military-led campaign against militants started with the closing of Islam Burapha, where religious teachers and students were arrested last week and a number of weapons confiscated.

Narathiwat first education-region director Pairat Seangthong said 40 schools in Rusoh and 19 in Si Sakhon agreed to shut, to allow security officials to hunt for militants.

The authorities have detained more than 300 suspects in recent weeks. All Islamic schools in the region remain under surveillance.

Southern Provinces Islamic Private Schools Association secretary Abdulrohni Kahama said representatives met with more than 200 members and advised them not to "distort the curriculum for the purpose of the insurgency".

Schools will register teachers in a bid to prevent militants infiltrating classes, he said.

The government is struggling to contain violence in the deep South that erupted at the start of 2004. More than 2,300 people have been killed since then.

Meanwhile, the First Army Region warned Metropolitan Police that militants from the deep South could enter the capital and create disturbances.

Metropolitan Police commander Lt-General Adisorn Nonsee confirmed the warning and said the force was on alert. However, Special Branch commander Lt-General Rapeepat Palavong said it had not received the news and intelligence suggested no such threat.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont flies to the deep South today for a two-day inspection trip. He will stay overnight at Bang Lang Dam and meet with local officials.

The Nation

NARATHIWAT