Police yesterday said they would issue arrest warrants against five more suspects after the brutal killing of two marines in Narathiwat last week.

But villagers expressed concern that the new suspects and 11 others named earlier were simply scapegoats.

Lt-General Kwanchart Klaharn, commander of the Fourth Army Region and director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command (SBPPC), said five more arrest warrants would be issued in addition to 11 others already approved.

Besides the 16 on the wanted list, two other men were arrested in connection with the twin murders in Tanyonglimo village in Rangae district last Wednesday.

He said the 18 suspects in the case included those accused of involvement in negotiations over the marines’ fate, incitement of the mob of protesters and the murders of the two marines.

He gave assurances that officials would strictly follow the law in bringing those responsible for the marines’ deaths to justice.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party MP Che-aming Tohtayong led a group of the party’s MPs from the three southernmost provinces to Tanyonglimo to gather information. While many stayed in their houses and remained silent, a few villagers agreed to talk.

A mosque official at Tanyonglimo, Mana-ing Dosoh, 41, burst into tears when he met the group of MPs and reporters.

Speaking in the local Malay language, Mana-ing said the villagers were now very scared and stayed indoors as they didn’t know who to turn to.

Villagers were afraid to talk to officials, fearing they would be targeted by militants, he said.

A villager, Kamoh, who asked that her family name not be disclosed, said she was sick and resting in her house on the day of the killings.

She could feel a change in the village since the slayings.

“Our lives changed a lot since the incident took place. Now we live in fear and anxiety,” she said.

Another villager, Nipa, who also asked that his family name not be disclosed, believed at least four of the initial 11 suspects for whom arrest warrants had been issued, were innocent.

“I know them well. They’re my neighbours,” he said.

He said the other seven suspects may come from other villages, as he had never heard of them.

MP Che-aming said he would report the group’s findings then try to spend time with the villagers, as they are still in a state of distress and hesitant to share information.