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