Small investors leave province; buses stop running :Yala

YALA, June 14 (TNA) – Small investors in the troubled southern province of Yala have already exited the province because of frequent attacks carried out by insurgents while buses in the provincial seat have stopped services for an indefinite period after Saturday’s incident in which a passenger was killed and 14 others wounded.

A Senate committee responsible for resolving issues and carrying out development of the southern border provinces Sunday met with private business operators in Yala and were briefed on the current situation in the province.

Nivet Sirichai, who heads the Yala Tourism Club, told the meeting that the current economic situation in the province is very bad due to the high risks resulting from daily violence. Most small investors have already left the province, leaving the major ones to continue doing businesses.

In another development, Yala’s passenger pickup trucks – songtaos — on Sunday opted to suspend services to a village where a bomb was thrown into a bus on Saturday, killing one passenger and wounding 14.

Police said the bomb was thrown into the bus by an unidentified passenger on a motorcycle. Witnesses said the duo fled to a nearby Muslim religious school after the incident.

As of Sunday, five bomb victims, including a 12-year-old girl, continue receiving treatment at a hospital in the province. (TNA)