General Harn’s advice on how to deal with insurgency threats
Gen Harn Leenanond
Former fourth army region commander Gen Harn Leenanond recently talked to the Isra news desk about the situation in the restive deep South, especially about the deadly threats from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and more daring ambushes by the southern insurgents. He also offered some recommendations on how to deal with such threats.
The retired general cited a number of deadly attacks perpetrated in the month of July by the insurgents with particular focus on the use of IEDs weighing between 15-20 kgs apiece which, he noted, is capable of tearing a body in two parts by the force of its impact.
On July 2, three soldiers based in Yaha district of Yala province were killed instantly by a 20-kg IED detonated by insurgents hiding in the bushes as they ventured out of their bunker to fix a water tap of a villager about 200 metres from the bunker. One of the soldiers had his body torn into two parts while the rest had their hands blasted off.
On July 4, one paramilitary ranger was killed and three others seriously injured by a 15kg bomb detonated by remote control as they were riding on a pick-up truck on their routine patrol along the Betong-Yala highway in Bannang Sata district of Yala. One of the wounded ranger had his legs blasted off.
On July 13, about 10 RKK insurgents, riding on pick-up trucks, attacked a checkpoint in Muang district of Narathiwat with hand grenades and assault rifles prompting a firefight which lasted about ten minutes. One border patrol policeman was killed at the scene and another seriously injured and is reportedly in coma with a shot in the head.
On July 16, a rubber tapper was killed by a landmine buried in a rubber plantation in Tharnto district of Yala by insurgents. The bomb blasted off her two legs. A police bomb demolition squad which was later rushed to the scene also stepped on another mine, injuring three of them with one having both of his legs blown off.
General Harn said that the aforementioned bomb blasts served a grim reminder to security officers of this deadly threat which has been in practice for some time. He said the notorious bomb maker, a Mr Faisol, who was trained abroad and has been back in Bacho district, might have trained many more bomb makers.
He noted that bomb-making equipments such as gunpowder, detonators, iron rods, urea fertilizer and iron rod cutters have often been seized in houses belong to members of the tambon administration organization in Narathiwat province.
Aside from the use of IEDs, General Harn said that the insurgents have formed rapid deployment death squads with one group traveling in motorcycles in a team of two men and the other travelling on pick-up trucks with 6-8 men in each vehicle.
He noted that the insurgents have never run short of war weapons and ammunition because they were all seized from government forces. A total of 413 rifles, mostly M16 assault rifles, were seized by the insurgents in the attack of an armoury in Narathiwat seven years ago and, so far, only about 50 of them have been recovered.
Because of the use of the tactic of fast regrouping, fast ambush and fast retreat, he said that the insurgents appear to have a manpower advantage of 4-5 times more than the government forces whereas, in reality, government forces are seven times more than the insurgents.
The insurgent death squads – in motorcycles and in pickup trucks – have virtually ruled all the roads and appear capable of attacking government forces and civilian targets whenever they want, said General Harn. And whenever there is a roadblock, the insurgents just walk past the checkpoint unarmed like any other villagers and later pick up weapons which were already hidden in the villages to attack their targeted victims and then melt away in the villages.
In villages classified as “red” zones, he said the insurgents have managed to infiltrate local administration bodies with their agents posing as village heads, kamnans or members of the tambon administrative organizations.
To deal with the insurgency threats, General Harn suggested that the politics leading military means approach must be adapted. He said that such an approach would be pointless so long as the insurgents have guns pointing at the back of the villagers. What is badly needed, he noted, is to get rid of all the arms in the hands of the insurgents so that the villagers will not feel threatened.
In order to disarm the insurgents, General Harn suggested a harsh crackdown on insurgent death squads and regular raids, about twice a week, of villages or communities suspected to be the safekeeping grounds of arms and ammunition of the insurgents.
To lay siege to a village with 500 people to make thorough searches for hidden arms, the retired general said one full company of troops would be needed. And for a village with about 2,000 population, one full battalion will be needed.
But since many of the troops have been deployed in the fields, he suggested that the troops be recalled to the barracks so that there would be enough men to carry out the search missions effectively and with increased frequency in order to destroy the insurgents’ hidden arsenals.
The general suggested that troops from the fourth army region be the main forces to carry out the missions because they know the terrain and have more experiences than troops from the other regions. He also warned against rotating troops on yearly basis, saying this will leave the security forces with men not familiar with the terrain and with inexperience.
Areas classified as “red”zones in the three southernmost provinces are as follows: Saiburi, Thung Yang Daeng, Nong Chik, Mai Kaen, Mayo and Yarang districts of Pattani; Bannang Sata, Yaha, Raman, and Tharnto districts of Yala; Rueso, Cho-i-Rong, Bacho and Ra-ngae districts of Narathiwat.
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Captions : Three soldiers based in Yaha district of Yala province were killed instantly by a 20-kg IED detonated by insurgents. on July 2.