THE NATIONAL Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday condemned the seizure of a Narathiwat hospital and taking of hostages during an attack by suspected insurgents on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered local authorities in the Muslim-majority deep South to strengthen security measures following a surge in violence, government spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

The Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) also denounced the assailants’ use of “human shields” in armed clashes with security forces.

Isoc’s deputy spokesman Colonel Yutthanam Petchmuang described the act as “extremely barbarous”, adding that it was a severe violation of human rights.

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“They used patients and medical personnel as human shields to protect them. They knew that the Army rangers would not fire back at them,” he said.

Between 40 and 50 assailants armed with assault rifles stormed into Joh I Rong Hospital and took hostages inside. Some of them fired shots at an Army ranger camp located next to the hospital.

The attackers also fired M-79 grenades at the camp but the explosives did not detonate.

More than 2,000 spent cartridges were collected at the scene after forensic officials arrived yesterday. Seven soldiers were injured in the incident.

Witnesses to the insurgent raid told of their ordeal yesterday. A 29-year-old nurse working at Joh I Rong Hospital who is six months pregnant said she was terrified when about 10 assailants stormed the hospital.

Assailants tied the nurse’s hands and forced her into a crouching position while they fired shots at the nearby Army ranger camp. The attack lasted about an hour.

The hospital was one of several sites in Joh I Rong district in Narathiwat that came under small-scale but coordinated attacks on Sunday night. The attacks were believed to have been carried out by insurgents from the RKK group.

In its statement, the rights body condemned the assailants’ violation of human rights and their failure to respect the safety of civilian patients.

“The act goes against the rules followed by civilised society. Even in times of war, all sides respect the symbol of a Red Cross, which signifies neutrality and fair treatment,” it said.

The prime minister has instructed the authorities to improve the situation in the southern border region within six months, the government spokesman said yesterday. Prayut also called for the cooperation of local residents to help with the effort.

“The government cannot accept actions that are above the law,” Sansern told reporters, adding that such actions also included oil smuggling, human trafficking, the drug trade and mafia activities, the spokesman said.

In addition to the three southern Muslim-majority provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, local authorities have also strengthened security in Songkhla.

The strengthened security measures will continue throughout March and April, a period that includes important dates relating to the insurgency in the deep South, including anniversaries related to the separatist Bersatu movement.

The hospital’s director, Boonrat Prapanwong, said yesterday that medical personnel were still in good spirits despite the incident, although she admitted she had been frightened during the raid.

“But after the incident, we can live with it. Most of the hospital staff are local residents of Narathiwat. We will never leave our home,” she said.

Dr Sommai Boonkliang, the chief public health official in Narathiwat, said relevant authorities had decided not to close the hospital despite the incident. “We have the duty of taking care of the local residents’ health,” he said.

Sunday’s attacks came after months of relative calm that saw violence dip to a record low last year, but there has been an increase in attacks over the past few weeks.

Deep South Watch, which monitors the violence, said there had been a 16 per cent drop in violent incidents in 2015 compared to 2014