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BANGKOK, Oct. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
has warned of violence from the Bali bombings possibly spilling over to prime
tourist spots in Thailand as he had put those major resorts on full alert, local
media Tuesday reported.
Thaksin said the number of plainclothes police and security officials has been
beefed up in major tourist areas, including Phuket, Pattaya and Phang Nga. "We
are on full alert," Thaksin wasquoted by the Nation as saying. "We have some information
that has caused us to be very cautious."
When asked to elaborate on what kind of intelligence information had
prompted the government's reaction, Thaksin replied local media: "It's not very
clear, but we have the situation under control."
The alert came after suicide bombs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali last
Saturday killing 22 people and injuring over a hundred.
"Geographically it may seem that the locations are far apart, but
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are actually connected along sea routes. These
people (the terrorists) have been traveling between and circulating around the
region via the sea for generations," the Prime Minister said on Monday.
Thaksin said the terrorists have close links across the borders due to
relatives and friends in the areas.
Though Thailand has been battling its own Muslim
insurgents inthe South, Thaksin has so far insisted that the violence in the
deep South is an internal affair and has no connection with international
terrorism. Monday's statement was the closest Thaksin has come to linking the
ongoing violence in the south to abroader network of radical elements outside
the country. Enditem |