Citing the anti-money laundering law, the Civil Court on December 15 ordered the seizure of a 14-rai plot of land in Pattani’s Yaring district which was once used as the site of Jihad Witaya School on the ground that it was a property used to support terrorist activities.

The killing of a paramilitary ranger as he was performing a burial ceremony for his dead mother at a cemetery in Yala’s Muang district on Sunday December 13 caused an uproar among local Muslims in his community as the cemetery is regarded as a sacred place which should be free from violence.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 23 women’s civic groups In the three southernmost border provinces issued a statement appealing to all armed groups in the restive region to stop all forms of violence in public places to ensure safe space for women.

Villages in Bacho and Cho Airong districts of Narathiwat have been designated to be declared “ safety zones” by a joint working committee of the government and an umbrella organization of southern separatist groups known as Mara Patani at recent meeting in early November in Malaysia.

The terrorist attacks in Paris on the night of November 13 which left at least 129 dead and hundreds injured should serve a wake-up call for Thailand to revamp its national security measures to cope more effectively with terrorist threats, said a former senior security officer who declined to be named.