In Narathiwat, assailants set fire to CCTV cameras and shot at combiner boxes, which collect electricity from solar panels, at three locations. The acts are believed to be carried out by members of insurgent groups responsible for violent activities in the areas of Cho-airong and the border area of Ra-ngae districts in Narathiwat.
At 10:30 on 19 Jul 2026, Pol. Maj. Gen. Prayong Khot Sakha, Commander of Narathiwat Provincial Police, Pol. Col. Narin Chuaysuk, Superintendent of Cho-airong Police Station, Col. Panjapol Supbaworn, Commander of Task Force 48, bomb disposal and forensic teams from Narathiwat, and related officials including war dogs jointly inspected the scenes where the combiner boxes were set on fire and shot at. The three locations were: two at the electricity poles at the Lu Bo Yaw intersection, Village No. 7, Chob Subdistrict, and one at an electricity pole in front of Sampan Wittaya School, Village No. 8, Chob Subdistrict. These incidents occurred around 20:00 on 18 Jul 2026, damaging the CCTV cameras.
At the first site, officials found one CCTV camera on the electricity pole at the Lu Bo Yaw intersection, Village No. 7, Chob Subdistrict, was damaged beyond use. At the base of the pole, burnt motorcycle tire remnants were scattered on the ground. The camera itself was charred and blackened by fire along with several wires connecting to it. Additionally, a roughly three-meter-long bamboo pole with a shark-tooth-shaped cut at the top was found nearby.
At the second site, about 20 meters from the first, officials found a combiner box collecting electricity from solar panels on an electricity pole that had been damaged by shotgun fire. Four shotgun shell casings were found near the roadside and collected as evidence.
At the third site in front of Sampan Wittaya School, officials found that perpetrators had also shot a solar power combiner box, causing damage. One shotgun shell casing was recovered near the pole. The CCTV camera on the same pole was not set on fire. Authorities collected all evidence for forensic analysis to support further investigation and eventual prosecution.
Pol. Col. Narin Chuaysuk, Superintendent of Cho-airong Police Station, ordered officers to review the CCTV footage around all three locations to track the perpetrators’ actions. At 19:24 on 18 Jul 2026, footage showed four men dressed in black with covered faces loitering near the Lu Bo Yaw intersection, Village No. 7, Chob Subdistrict.
One of the men fired a shotgun at the solar power combiner box, damaging it. Then they set fire to the CCTV camera on the opposite electricity pole by hanging a motorcycle tire on the three-meter bamboo pole and igniting it. Using the bamboo pole, they pressed the burning tire against the camera to ensure it caught fire. Afterward, the group crossed the railway tracks to the second site near Sampan Wittaya School on the opposite side of the road parallel to the tracks, where they fired at another combiner box. The group then split up and fled on motorcycles parked near the third site, likely heading toward the nearby mountains close to the school.
Authorities believe these acts were committed by members of insurgent groups responsible for violent activities in Cho-airong and the border area of Ra-ngae districts, Narathiwat, who have previously conducted security-related attacks in these areas multiple times.