Army Chief visits Thai far South

BANGKOK, April 9 (TNA) - Army Chief General Prayuth Chan o-cha is visiting the violence-plagued Thai far South to inspect the updated situation, following a spate of bomb attacks in Yala Province recently. Accompanied by Caretaker Defence Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapa, General Prayuth left for Yala on Wednesday morning when he told journalists, prior to his departure, that a series of bomb attacks in Yala on April 6-7 appeared not to relate to the change of the commanding general of the 4th Army Area Command, but the violence was apparently aimed at damaging the local economy and tourism. Besides, the suspected insurgents appeared to be aimed at pressuring Buddhist-Thais to evacuate from the attacked areas. The army commander-in-chief assessed that the suspected insurgents were also trying to provoke authorities to retaliate and he has, therefore, ordered the new commander of the 4th army area command to cooperate with local entrepreneurs to install close-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) in order to assist and faciliate investigations into untoward incidents. The army chief and the caretaker deputy defence minister were also following up progress on solutions to the violent unrest in the Thai deep South. (TNA)