BANGKOK, Oct 13 — Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Udomdej Sitabutr has ordered 4th Army Region Commander Lt Gen Prakan Cholayuth to find the arsonists who set fire to six schools in the violence-plagued southern province of Pattani before dawn Sunday, an army spokesman said.
The spokesman said the army believed the arson of six schools should probably be attributed to the success of the government in arresting several key figures of insurgents and the seizure of a large amount of weapons in the past.
Police said earlier that five schools in Pattani’s Thung Yang Daeng district and one school in Mayo district were set on fire at about 2.30am.
The army commander is very concerned about the incidents and ordered Lt Gen Prakan to speedily evaluate damages and to help the affected people.
He called for the arrest of the culprits to proceed with the judicial process, said the spokesman.
Pattani Deputy Governor Sompoch Suwannarat said that he believed the arsonists intended to damage property rather than hurt officials.
He said representatives of the army, police and the administrative staff met Sunday evening to evaluate the situation again.
