A 79-year-old woman has died of serious injuries caused by a roadside bomb that exploded in Yi-Ngo district in the southern province of Narathiwat on Thursday.
Her death prompted some local residents to rally on Saturday to protest against the sectarian violence that has plagued the Muslim-majority southernmost provinces for more than 20 years.
The explosion occurred at about 9am on Thursday in front of a tea shop on Ram Komut Road. Investigators said the improvised device was contained in a 10kg cooking gas tank placed in a bin. The device was detonated remotely when police from the Yi-Ngo station on a routine patrol stopped at the location.
The blast injured a total of 14 people, including police officers and civilians.
One of the victims was a 79-year-old, identified as Grandma Ror Meo, who had been receiving treatment at Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Hospital, where she was pronounced dead early Saturday.
‘Grandma saved money her whole life from selling seaweed to go on Hajj this year, with the deposit already paid of over 100,000 baht,’ said Mrs Surarak, a relative of the deceased. ‘She was so happy.’
Despite doctors’ efforts to save the woman, her survival was impossible due to the severity of her injuries and her advanced age.
Her passing sparked a response from local residents. They united in a public rally on Saturday to reject all forms of violence and demand condemnation of the brutality that has been part of daily life for too long.
Since the insurgency re-emerged in 2024, a total of 7,764 people – about 65% of them civilians – have been killed in violent incidents in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, according to Deep South Watch.