SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: BANKS BOMBED IN YALA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 005349 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR TH SUBJECT: SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: BANKS BOMBED IN YALA REF: A. BANGKOK 05249 (SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: TEACHERS AND EDUCATION) ¶B. BANGKOK 05230 (SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: UPDATED VIOLENCE STATISTICS) Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR SUSAN M. SUTTON, REASON 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) At least 23 bombs exploded at banking facilities in the southern province of Yala shortly before noon on August ¶31. Preliminary reports indicate at least one person was killed and 26 wounded. According to our police contacts in the South, the bombs targeted dozens of banks and ATMs in Yala city and four other districts (most of which have been hot-spots of separatist violence) and were detonated by mobile phone. One bomb in Yala city was reportedly defused before it detonated; a separate bank received a telephone warning shortly before a device detonated there. Two branches of the Islamic Bank of Thailand were attacked. All banks in the province have subsequently closed for the day and some local schools have closed as well. No incidents were reported in neighboring Narathiwat or Pattani provinces. ¶2. (C) According to local press reports, police have arrested two young men based on bank surveillance camera footage. Police have told reporters that militants dressed as students placed the bombs in hollowed-out books and school bags before placing them in and around the banks. LT GEN Ongkorn Thongprasom, senior Army commander for the South and head of the Southern Border Provinces Peace Building Command (SBPPC), told reporters that Army forces have been deployed to hunt down the suspects. Local press has reported that several schools in the area were closed today, based on rumors that the separatists would launch coordinated attacks on this specific date. ¶3. (C) COMMENT. While the apparent size and lethality of the bombs appears to be consistent with past attacks designed to garner attention, rather than kill large numbers of people, the choice of timing and targets appears to be slightly different. Most previous attacks have occurred at night and been focused on security officials, phone booths, teachers and other symbols of the state--not commercial institutions (though hotels and karaoke establishments have been infrequently attacked in the past.) One senior banking official publicly expressed puzzlement over the incidents, saying he felt very sad. "Banks have not been targets...we have given aid and investment to the area." BOYCE