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Published on November 7, 2007

A powerful bomb exploded yesterday in a fresh market in Yala, injuring at least 32 people, while in nearby Narathiwat's Rusoh district, a gunman shot dead a principal and a teacher who had just completed their first day of school following the month-long break.

The bomb, estimated to weigh three kilograms, was placed near a food stall in the fresh market in Yala municipality. It was about 10 metres from a stall where a bomb went off last Friday, injuring 10 people.

Yala's deputy governor, Gissada Boonraj, said 26 of the 32 were admitted to the hospital for treatment. The victims included a four-year-old boy.

"It was a very depressing scene. The market was packed with people buying food when the bomb went off," Gissada said. Like Friday's blast, police believed the bomb was set off remotely.

Separately, in Rusoh district, fellow teachers said Suwatchai Ekthananond, the principal of Prachapattana Elementary School, and Monthree Jarong, were shot dead at close range by a gunman who approached them on the side of the road, where they were waiting for the rest of the teachers to assemble.

It has become standard practice for public school teachers in the deep South to travel as a group to and from school for security reasons amid the ongoing spate of insurgent attacks.

More than 2,600 people have been killed in the region since January 2004, including at least 73 public school teachers. A similar number have also survived attempts on their lives during the same period.

Somjit Daengdee, a fellow teacher, said the gunshots could be heard from the school ground. The shooting caught everybody off-guard, she said.

Some of the teachers were heading towards that direction but local residents told them to get back because someone had been shot up ahead, she said.

Later, when all the teachers decided to check out the crime scene, they discovered the two victims on the side of the road.

The school has been hit twice by arson attacks, reportedly by militants who often target public schools to discredit the security apparatus and use it as a way to drive a bigger wedge between the state and local Malay Muslim population.

In a related development, a gunfight in Yala's Yaha district between a group of militants and a unit of rangers ended with one insurgent killed. The shooting took place in Tambon Patae, Gissada said. The recent escalation in violence had occurred during a rotation of troops, he said, as has happened before. But the past week has seen dramatic changes in the division of labour - with all four Army areas having been given a role. Units assigned to the deep South have seen some serious changes, with each province now assigned to a different command.

The First Army Area has been assigned to look after Narathiwat, the Second Army Area given Pattani, the Third Army Area assigned to Yala and the Fourth Army Area given Songkhla. Meanwhile, a tense stand-off between police and local villagers in Narathiwat's Tambon Bongor in Rangae district, ended peacefully after authorities backed off after being denied access to the body of Mahseree Yakoh, 41, who was murdered on Monday by a gunman with an automatic rifle.

Local residents in this area, which is highly contested between militants and the police, accused the authorities of targeted killings and often used such opportunities to display their anger towards the state.

The Nation

YALA