Southern insurgents ‘stockpiling bombs’ ahead of Feb 8 poll

Senate security panel warns of attempts to disrupt election and stage other symbolic attacks

The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) militant group is moving improvised explosive devices into the southern border provinces to disrupt the Feb 8 election and stage symbolic attacks throughout February, including during Ramadan, a Senate security spokesman said on Friday.

Sen Chaiyong Maneerungsakul, a spokesman for the Senate committee on military and national security, noted recent finds that included bombs in toilets at PTT petrol stations across Pattani municipality on Tuesday, and two more devices found on Thursday in the women’s restroom at the Pattani bus terminal. No injuries were reported in those incidents.

On Monday a bomb prematurely detonated while it was being assembled at a rented house in Muang district of Yala, killing one suspected BRN operative and injuring three others, who subsequently fled, the senator said.

Cross‑border movements

Citing informant reporting, Mr Chaiyong said an estimated 32 BRN operatives had crossed into Thailand from Malaysia with bomb‑making materials and had set up a base in Sukhirin district of Narathiwat for meetings and further operations.

Additional pipe bombs were believed to have been smuggled by fishing boats and brought ashore in Muang district of Narathiwat.

He warned that the imported devices could be used to stage attacks in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, as well as four districts of Songkhla, to disrupt the House elections on Feb 8.

The attacks could mirror the coordinated bombings and arson incidents at 11 PTT petrol stations in three border provinces on Jan 11, which coincided with tambon (subdistrict) elections.

Mr Chaiyong said February also contains dates that BRN militants have historically marked with violence including: Feb 13 for Hari Pahlawan Nasional Patani, or Pattani National Heroes’ Day; and Feb 27 for Makha Bucha Day, a major Buddhist holy day.

The onset of Ramadan, which will begin on the evening of Feb 17, typically brings an uptick in attacks as well, according to the senator.

“Every year during Ramadan, the BRN indoctrinates and incites its supporters to kill their enemies, telling them they will earn ten times the spiritual merit, and that if they die, they will go to heaven,” Mr Chaiyong said.

Better intelligence needed

The Senate committee has urged the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Command to swiftly verify and intercept any cross‑border movement of armed cells and bomb‑making supplies.

“Intelligence is the heart of preventing violent incidents,” Mr Chaiyong stressed.

“This is to restrict the freedom of BRN armed militants to carry out terrorism, prevent attacks and attempts to disrupt the election, and to avert incidents on symbolic dates this month.”

He criticised recent lapses, noting that the petrol‑station and bus‑terminal devices were discovered by members of the public, not flagged by intelligence units.

As well, he said, authorities had no intelligence warning about the BRN members renting a house in Yala to assemble explosives before the blast occurred.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered the Isoc Region 4 Forward Command to overhaul its intelligence operations following the PTT petrol station bombings on Jan 11.

Security agencies have long recorded higher levels of violence in the three southern border provinces during Ramadan, a pattern observed since 2004, the year the insurgency flared up after years of dormancy.

Additional patrols and screening have been stepped up around fuel stations, transport hubs and government facilities ahead of Sunday’s vote.