Violence swept through the deep South of Thailand throughout the last several days as militants launched attacks that killed two policeman and dozens of residents.

Meanwhile, two hostage-taking incidents stirred up by local villagers are also sending a warning signal which further worries the Thai government on the thorny South problem.

Late Tuesday, police issued arrest warrants for 19 more suspects involved in the violence against two teachers taken hostage at a school in Narathiwat Province last Friday, although seven suspects have already been arrested and six of them are women.

Fourth Army Area commander Lt-Gen. Ongkorn Thongprasom said at a press conference on Tuesday that a special unit has been deployed to provide security at Ban Gujingruepo in Rangae district where the hostage drama occurred last week.

Gen. Ongkorn, who is also director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command (SBPPC), said the SBPPC also conducted psychological operations in the village.

The hostage drama took place after two men were arrested by police on suspicion of murder earlier Friday morning. Demanding their release, angered local villagers took two teachers hostage at the school. Both the teachers were seriously beaten and one of them, Juling Pengamoon, is still in a dying coma till Tuesday. Doctors said only miracle can help her life.

Hundreds of sympathizers and well-wishers including high-ranking military officers visited her in the intensive care unit on Tuesday. Four guest books have been filled with written messages to give her and her family moral support.

The south military officials said the incident was planned in advance, similar to the killing of two Marines taken hostage at Tanyong Limor village in Narathiwat in September last year.

On Tuesday, villagers in the same province encircled a group of police and military officials who raided their village in Ba Cho district and arrested two suspects in connection with the murder of two marines last year.

After a 15-minute peaceful negotiation, the villagers freed the border patrol police and officials without any violence. However, it marked the anti-crackdown emotion which has already gone around among the southerners.

Besides, bloody attacks launched by southern insurgents were never calmed down, and two more policemen were killed by drive-by gunmen on Tuesday in Yala Province.

More and more innocent people including policemen and soldiers became victims since unrest broke out in January 2004 in the three mainly Muslim provinces along Thailand's border with Malaysia. The fact that 1,300 people have been killed and thousands others injured in the violence is really harassing the government which has acted as a caretaker for three months.

Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Chidchai Vanastidya said on Tuesday he would visit the violence-plagued three provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala on Wednesday to step up protection for teachers, as well as local residents and policemen.

Chidchai said that in a cabinet meeting, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra expressed deep concern over the safety of teachers in the south and accordingly ordered him to follow up and fully implement the security policy, especially building fences around schools and teachers' residences to protect them from insurgents' harassment.

"I'll go to follow up what has and has not been done in securing the teachers' safety," the caretaker deputy prime minister said.

Brushing aside comments that little success has been achieved despite continued mass operations to gain trust and co-operation from local residents, Chidchai said the tasks have yet to yield fruitful results in some areas where local residents don't trust the officials, but in some areas much progress has been made.

Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin told reporters that he himself was arranging a schedule to visit the far south as well, saying he would go to all areas heavily infiltrated by the insurgency.

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)

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