Killing of villagers not to compound security situation in Thai South

BANGKOK, Febuary 1 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapa said Wednesday he believes that a recent incident in which paramilitary rangers killed and injured villagers in Nongjik area of Pattani Province will not worsen the security situation in the Thai deep South. General Yuthasak insisted that an official investigation into the incident has been on progress and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered the 4th Army Area Command, which oversees security in the Thai South, to compensate and create proper understanding with families of the dead and the injured and to conduct psychological operations in the concerned locality. Thai Defence Minister Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat then told reporters that he regretted the loss but mistakes were possible in security operations, quoting Thai Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha as saying that an official probe is to be concluded whether the paramilitary rangers overreacted. General Kasemsak Plooksawasdi, chair of the special Senate committee on solutions and development for Thailand's southern border provinces and southern senators, meanwhile, urged the Royal Thai Army to show responsibility and announce investigative results in connection with the death of four villagers and injured people in Pattani, demanding justice be served for all parties. The chair of the special Senate committee also asked for good quality of paramilitary rangers and suggested that they should be familiar with areas where they are deployed, and that paramilitary rangers be replaced by soldiers who better understand lifestyles and cultures of local people. (TNA)