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Malaysians urged to stay away from southern Thailand
Malaysians urged to stay away from southern Thailand
KOTA BARU: Malaysians, including residents at the Kelantan/Thai border, should temporarily stop travelling to southern Thailand following the latest insurgent attack at an army base in Narathiwat which killed 16 militants on Wednesday.
Eighth Infantry Brigade commander Brig-Gen Datuk Mohamad Zaki Hamzah said the call was made for their safety as Malaysians regularly crossed the border. They include day-trippers.
He said security personnel on the Kelantan side of the border with Narathiwat had been told to be on alert for any illegal movements in the area.
"So far, they have not detected any illegal elements or movement trying to sneak into our country after the incident.
"However, as a precaution, it is better for Malaysians not to cross over to Thailand at the moment as we do not know what actually happened there.
"The Thai government has also imposed a curfew in the most affected provinces."
Zaki said he believed Thai authorities, especially the army, had not asked assistance from the brigade as they were capable of handling the situation.
"I believe they can control the situation by taking their own action to solve the problem. However, we will not hesitate to help them if they ask us to do so."
Kelantan police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said the situation along the border was under control as all agencies, including the army and the state anti-smuggling unit, were monitoring the situation closely.
He called on border residents who had information or had come across those involved in the incident, to inform the army or the police immediately.
In the incident, 16 militants were killed when scores of heavily armed gunmen attacked a marine base in Narathiwat's Bacho district.
However, no military casualties were reported in the assault which was described as one of the most deadly attacks in Thailand's long-running insurgency.
Narathiwat governor Apinun Suetananuwong said that the situation in the province was under control as all agencies involved continued their operation to track down the remaining insurgents.
----- KatoeyNewsNetwork
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