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By APD writer Chen Jiabao
BANGKOK, June 11 (APD) -- Coastal provinces known as tourists destinations in southern Thailand have beefed up security measures after receiving warnings of possible attacks, local media Sunday reported.
Southern provinces along the Andaman Sea including Krabi, Phuket that are home to clean beaches and crystal water, have to put on alert as warning of potential violences have circulated on social media.
An intelligence report mentioned that southern militants might launch another wave of attacks against tourist attractions in Krabi and two other coastal provinces similar to an arson attack in Krabi in last August, according to Thai Public Broadcasting Service.
Krabi province saw a big check of surveillance cameras installed in commercial areas and tourist attractions. Officials have tightened security of the province's international airport.
In Phuket, local residents are urged to report suspicious activities to authorities. Check points in ports, airports are on high alert.
Crime crackdowns on smuggling of illegal arms and drugs have been launched in neighboring provinces, local media said.
Since August 2015, Thailand has sustained several bombings, including one at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok’s Rajprasong tourist district that killed 20, and the August 2016 attacks on tourist sites in seven southern provinces.
More recently, three bombings rocked Bangkok in less than two months.
Bombings often take place in the predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking Deep South, where almost 7,000 have been killed in violence linked with the insurgency since 2004.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has recently listed Thailand as one of the 20 most dangerous countries to visit.
To come up with this ranking, the forum measures the extent to which a country exposes tourists and businesses to security risks mainly related to serious harm to people including violence and terrorism.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
