KUALA LUMPUR – Police have tightened Malaysia-Thailand border security following a bomb explosion and gunfire believed to have occurred in the Gualosira area, Pasemas District, Sg Golok, Narathiwat Province, early this morning.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain also stated that police would collaborate with Thai authorities in light of this incident.
“The safety of residents residing near the border area must be prioritised, including the safety of our police personnel on duty in the area,” he said today.
Razarudin said all state police chiefs, especially those from Kelantan, Perlis, Kedah and Perak, had also been instructed to be on high alert regarding the incident.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Southeast Brigade of the General Operations Force, Sheik Azhar Sheik Omar, said his team was on standby, including conducting foot and motorcycle patrols along the 16 static posts near the border area.
“We believe that the incident occurred on the Thailand side near the Rantau Panjang border area.
“We have 16 static posts along Sg Golok starting from Pos Ibrahim Pencen to Pos Ular in Pengkalan Kubor, Tumpat,” he said, adding that roadblocks had also been mounted since 6am with six members operating continuously.
Earlier, a video clip on the incident went viral after it was uploaded by local residents on Facebook and TikTok.
Early this morning, residents of Rantau Panjang near the Malaysia-Thailand border were startled from their sleep by the reverberating blasts and gunfire echoing from the Sg Golok area around 1am.
Zaidi Abdullah, aged 42, recounted that he had been asleep in his house, situated just a few metres from Sg Golok, when he was abruptly awakened by a powerful explosion, followed by what appeared to be a volley of gunfire, according to Harian Metro.
Zaidi also said there was a temporary pause in the sounds of explosions and gunfire before they resumed.
“Since my house is near Sg Golok, we are quite accustomed to such incidents. But at the same time, there is still some fear for our safety,” he said.
There are no news reports on any incidents in Thailand so far. – April 29, 2024