There have been calls for a review of the policy of locating bases near “soft targets” to prevent innocent people getting caught up in a crossfire between troops and insurgents. But a senior military officer said yesterday advice from various agencies was considered when such decisions were made.

“The key factor is that we have to effectively control the area to protect lives and property, as well as government and state enterprise offices – the latter are prime targets of extremists’ terrorist attacks,” Colonel Pramote Phrom-in, spokesman for Region 4 Front Command of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), said.

“Calls for the withdrawal of troops or for military bases to be set up away from ‘soft targets’ would encourage or give an opportunity to the culprits to easily attack these targets,” he told The Nation in an interview focusing on the recent raid on Joh I Rong Hospital in Narathiwat.

There has been speculation that the raid may have been a publicity stunt perpetrated by state officials, although authorities deny that account.

Sangkhom Kerdkor, the Joh I Rong district chief and operations centre head, said in a separate interview that local residents understood the hospital raid – and the use of “human shields” at a civilian facility – had not been orchestrated by state officials.

“Evidence, particularly CCTV camera footage, clearly shows the faces of the attackers, so attempts to twist the facts to blame state officers are untrue. Locals understand this, as we have explained to them what happened,” he said.

Unrest in the far South flared up after insurgents raided an army camp at Joh I Rong and escaped with a massive haul of weapons on January 4, 2004.

Sangkhom said he would continue to work on community relations to give people an accurate understanding of events and hopefully end the unrest in the same district as the 2004 army camp raid and gun heist.

He said the operations centre divided its work into tactical matters handled by rangers, with back up provided by police and administrative officials, while the district chief handled community relations and development work, and local police enforced criminal prosecutions. He said the three-party policy including police, military and administrators worked well and helped to assist people in need of help.

About 50 heavily armed insurgents stormed Joh I Rong Hospital on the night of March 13 and used it as a base to launch attacks on a nearby military base. Although the attack did not result in any fatalities, witnesses endured psychological trauma.

The raid on the hospital has been widely condemned, and people have urged the authorities to review whether military bases should be set up near hospitals or schools, saying the presence of troops may attract attacks instead of prevent them.

As of press time last night, the hunt for insurgents who raided the hospital was continuing in the Tawe Mountain Range. Eleven battalions were deployed yesterday.