NARATHIWAT: About 500 people, including religious leaders and students, rallied on Monday outside the police flats in Muang district where a car bomb exploded on Nov 22, killing one police officer and injuring 31 other people, police and civilians.
The demonstrators declared their opposition to all forms of violence, holding cloth banners denouncing the bombers.
While Muslim leaders prayed for peace inside the wreckage of the police flats, the others gathered on the open ground inside the police residential compound.
Thida Wannalak, chairwoman of the Phuttharaksa group of the Federation of Buddhist Thais of Narathiwat, led all rally participants in declaring their strong stand against violence.
The bomb attack on the police flats occurred at about 12.45pm on Nov 22.
A man covering his face and wearing clothing like a police uniform was seen driving a pickup with fake licence plates into the police flats compound on Suriya Pradit Road and parking it near the housing on Suriya Pradit Road and parking it near the housing building.
He left, and soon afterwards the pickup exploded. The explosion caused heavy damage to the flats and started a fire.
Pol Capt Suthirak Panthaniya, a deputy traffic police inspector, was killed.
Thirty-one other people were injured - 12 policemen, one policewoman, 10 women civilians, five male civilians and three children. Some injured civilians were family members of police.
