Malaysia has issued a stern warning to its citizens against traveling to southern Thailand after bombings and shootings by suspected insurgents killed at least five people and injured no fewer than 13 others over the weekend.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The attacks reportedly took place in the mainly ethnic Malay Muslim southernmost provinces of predominantly Buddhist Thailand, where more than 7,300 people have been killed since a decades-old separatist rebellion reignited in 2004.
It was gathered that gunmen fired into a district office and detonated a car bomb in the Sungai Kolok border town of Narathiwat province, popular with Malaysian tourists, killing two Thai security volunteers.
Authorities said that in the neighboring Pattani province, a roadside bomb killed a volunteer ranger and two government officials.
The Malaysian foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday that Malaysians were strongly encouraged to postpone non-essential travel to these areas for the time being.
About 4.9 million of the 35.5 million visitors to Thailand last year were from Malaysia, making it the second-biggest source market for tourism after China.
According to Narathiwat Governor Trakul Thotham, security has been tightened in the area. He added that there were still Malaysians in the area and that there would be some impact in the initial stages.
“This kind of incident has not occurred in the last four to five years,” he said.
