Police unit withdraws after villager protest in Thailand's restive south

A Border Patrol Police unit has withdrawn from its temporary base at a school in Thai southern border province Yala Monday following Sunday's protest by some 300 villagers, Thai News Agency reported.

The Border Patrol Police unit, with a strength of 44 officers, withdrew from its temporary base Monday amid tightened security after a group of about 300 villagers, mostly women and children, staged a protest and blocked the access to Bajoh village in Bannang Sata district, demanding withdrawal of the police unit from the village.

The unit is now relocated to a police station in the same district, two kilometers from the former base.

The protesters called for the withdrawal as they believed that officers were involved in the killing of a villager on Nov. 3. The shooting occurred at the base but no officers came out to stop attackers.

The crowd dispersed after a five-hour negotiation and officials vowed to leave the village on Monday.

Meanwhile, six schools in the Bannang Sata district torched in an earlier violent incident, were closed Monday for safety and to facilitate the work of security personnel.

On Sunday evening, two soldiers investigating the arson attacks were killed when their unit was hit in a roadside bombing, with three others being wounded.

Source: Xinhua