Nearly 6,000 people have died and about 10,000 have been injured
since 2004 in an ethnic separatist insurgency, which has pitted
separatist Malay Muslims against both the Thai-speaking Buddhist
minority and those Malay Muslims who support the government.
The insurgents demand at least a level of autonomy from Thailand for
the Pattani region, which comprises the southern Thai provinces of
Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, neighboring parts of Songkhla province, and
the northeastern part of Malaysia (Kelantan).
Of the 2,463 people killed in attacks from 2004 to 2007, 2,196 (89%)
were civilians. Buddhist Thais and ethnic Malay Muslims were killed in
bomb attacks, shootings, assassinations, ambushes, and machete hackings.
At least 29 victims have been beheaded and mutilated.
"There have been hundreds of militant attacks on teachers, schools,
public health workers, hospital staff, and community health centers. For
the first time in the region's history of separatist insurgencies,
Buddhist monks and novices are now among those killed and injured by
separatist militants," HRW said in a 2007 report.
"Village-based militants called Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani (Patani
Freedom Fighters) in the loose network of BRN-Coordinate (National
Revolution Front-Coordinate) have now emerged as the backbone of the new
generation of separatist militants.
Also, the national average is well below the estimated average needed
to be considered an acceptable minimum wage by international
organizations for SE Asia. One could thus argue that the average per
capita income in the southernmost provinces is only about 20-25% of what
the Thai minimum wage would be.
Household income improved from 2002 to 2004 by 21.99%, 19.27%, and
21.28% for Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, respectively. For comparison,
income growth for all of Thailand in the same period was just 9.4%.
Muslims in the border provinces generally have lower levels of
educational attainment compared to their Buddhist neighbors. 69.80% of
the Muslim population in the border provinces have only a primary school
education, compared to 49.6% of Buddhists in the same provinces. Only
9.20% of Muslims have completed secondary education (including those who
graduated from private Islamic schools), compared to 13.20% of
Buddhists. Just 1.70% of the Muslim population have a bachelor’s degree,
while 9.70% of Buddhists hold undergraduate degrees. However, one must
keep in mind that government schools are taught only in Thai, and there
is resentment and even outright pulling of children out of Thai-language
schools.
The lesser educated Muslims also have reduced employment
opportunities compared to their Buddhist neighbors. Government officials
comprised only 2.4% of all working Muslims in the provinces, compared
with 19.2% of all working Buddhists. Jobs in the Thai public sector are
difficult to obtain for those Muslims who never fully accepted the Thai
language or the Thai education system. Insurgent attacks on economic
targets are further reducing employment opportunities for both Muslims
and Buddhists in the provinces.
Thai response to the insurgency was hampered by a lack of training in
counter-insurgency methods, a lack of understanding of local culture,
and rivalries between the police and the army. Many local policemen are
allegedly involved in the local drug trade and other criminal
activities, and army commanders from Bangkok treat them with disdain.
The army responded to the attacks with heavy-handed raids to search
Muslim villages, which only resulted in reprisals. Insurgents provoked
the inexperienced Thai government into disproportionate responses,
generating sympathy among the Muslim populace.
In 2005, 131 civilians from the south fled to neighbouring Malaysia
seeking refuge from the Thai authorities. Thailand immediately accused
the refugees of being insurgents (even though women and children were in
the group) and demanded that they be returned, sparking a diplomatic
spat. Currently, the people are still in Malaysia.
Four Star has become the political representative of the insurgents
by consent of the GMIP and active military fractions of BRN, RKK and
other groups. It is believed that Four Star might eventually to be able
to reach agreements with the Thai government and end the violence, if
negotiations were ever held.
Krue Se Mosque Incident
On 28 April 2004, more than 100 militants carried out terrorist attacks against 10 police outposts across Pattani, Yala and
Songkhla provinces in southern Thailand.
[39] 32 gunmen retreated to the 425-year-old
Krue Se Mosque, regarded by Muslims as the holiest
mosque in Pattani.
General
Pallop Pinmanee, commander of the
Southern Peace Enhancement Center and Deputy Director of the
Internal Security Operations Command,
was the senior Army officer on the scene. After a tense seven-hour
stand-off, Pallop ordered an all out assault on the mosque. All of the
gunmen were killed. He later insisted, "I had no choice. I was afraid
that as time passed the crowd would be sympathetic to the insurgents, to
the point of trying to rescue them."
[40]
It was later revealed that Pallop's order to storm the mosque contravened a direct order by Defense Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to seek a peaceful resolution to the stand-off no matter how long it took.
[41]
Pallop was immediately ordered out of the area, and later tendered his
resignation as commander of the Southern Peace Enhancement Center. The
forward command of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC),
which Pallop headed, was also dissolved. A government investigative
commission found that the security forces had overreacted. The
Asian Centre for Human Rights questioned the independence and impartiality of the investigative commission. On 3 May 2004 during a Senate hearing, Senator
Kraisak Choonhavan
noted that most of those killed at Krue Se Mosque had been shot in the
head and there were signs that ropes had been tied around their wrists,
suggesting they had been executed after being captured.
The incident resulted in a personal conflict between Pallop and Defense Minister
Chavalit, who was also director of the ISOC.
[42] Pallop later demanded that the Defense Minister cease any involvement in the management of the southern insurgency.
[43]
Tak Bai incident
In October 2004 the town of
Tak Bai in
Narathiwat province saw the most publicized incident of the
insurgency.
Six local men were arrested for having supplied weapons to insurgents. A
demonstration was organized to demand their release and the police
called in army reinforcements. The army used
tear gas and
water cannons on the crowd, and shooting started in which seven men were killed.
Hundreds of local people, mostly young men, were arrested. They were
made to take off their shirts and lie on the ground. Their hands were
tied behind their backs. Later that afternoon, they were thrown by
soldiers into trucks to be taken to the Ingkayutthaboriharn army camp in
the nearby province of
Pattani.
The prisoners were stacked five or six deep in the trucks, and by the
time the trucks reached their destination five hours later, in the heat
of the day, 78 men had died of suffocation.
This incident sparked widespread protests across the south, and indeed across
Thailand, since even non-Muslim Thais were appalled at the army's behaviour.
Thaksin,
however, gave the army his full support. Those responsible for the
ill-treatment and death of the detainees received the most minor of
non-custodial punishments. Thaksin's initial response was to defend the
army's actions, saying that the 78 men died "because they were already
weak from fasting during the month of
Ramadan."
Charges were filed against 58 suspects accused of participating in
the demonstration. The trials went on at a slow place, and as of October
2006, the court had finished questioning of only two of the 1,500
witnesses in the case. Police were also unable to find 32 Tak Bai
protesters who were still at large after fleeing arrest.
[44]
On 2 November 2006, then Prime Minister
Surayud Chulanont gave a formal apology for the incident.
[45]
The next day, the insurgents responded by increasing the number of
violent acts by fivefold in comparison to the average the preceding
month.
[46]
National Reconciliation Commission
On March 2005, respected former Prime Minister
Anand Panyarachun
was appointed as chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission,
tasked with overseeing that peace is brought back to the South. A fierce
critic of the
Thaksin-government,
Anand frequently criticized the handling of the southern unrest, and in
particular the State of Emergency Decree. He has been quoted to have
said, "The authorities have worked inefficiently. They have arrested
innocent people instead of the real culprits, leading to mistrust among
locals. So, giving them broader power may lead to increased violence and
eventually a real crisis." Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated
from 2005 to 2006, with escalating violence, especially among teachers
and civilians. Despite much criticism of the Thaksin-government's
policies, Anand refused to submit the NRC's final report, choosing
instead to wait for the results of the 2006 legislative election.
[47]
Anand finally submitted the NRC's recommendations on 5 June 2006.
[48] Among them were
- Introducing Islamic law
- Making ethnic Pattani-Malay (Yawi) as a working language in the region
- Establishing an unarmed peacekeeping force
- Establishing a Peaceful Strategic Administrative Centre for Southern Border Provinces
The Thaksin government vowed to implement the recommendations. However, the recommendations were vigorously opposed by
Prem Tinsulanonda, the President of King
Bhumibol Adulyadej's
Privy Council, who stated "We cannot accept that [proposal] as we are
Thai. The country is Thai and the language is Thai... We have to be
proud to be Thai and have the Thai language as the sole national
language".
[49]
Negotiation attempts
Attempts to negotiate with insurgents were hampered by the anonymity of the insurgency's leaders.
In May 2004,
Wan Kadir Che Man, exiled leader of
Bersatu
(an umbrella organization for the PULO (fivestar), New PULO, and the
BRN) and for years one of the key symbolic figures in the guerrilla
movement, stated that he would be willing to negotiate with the
Government to end the southern violence. He also hinted that Bersatu
would be willing to soften its previous demands for an independent
state.
[50][51]
The government initially welcomed the request to negotiate. However,
the government response was severely criticized as being "knee-jerk" and
"just looking to score cheap political points."
[51] But when it became apparent that, despite his softened demand for limited autonomy,
Wan Kadir Che Man had no influence over the violence, the negotiations were cancelled.
[51] The government then began a policy of not attempting to officially negotiate with the insurgents.
[52]
After being appointed Army Commander in 2005, General
Sonthi Boonyaratglin
expressed confidence that he could resolve the insurgency. He claimed
that he would take a "new and effective" approach to a crisis and that
"The Army is informed [of who the insurgents are] and will carry out
their duties."
[53]
On 1 September 2006, a day after 22 commercial banks were simultaneously bombed in
Yala province,
Sonthi announced that he would break with the government no-negotiation
policy. However, he noted that "We still don't know who is the real
head of the militants we are fighting with."
[54]
In a press conference the next day, he attacked the government for
criticizing him for trying to negotiate with the anonymous insurgents,
and demanded that the government "Free the military and let it do the
job."
[55] His confrontation with the government made his call for negotiation extremely popular with the media.
[52] Afterwards, insurgents
bombed 6 department stores in
Hat Yai
city, which until then had been free of insurgent activities. As
always, the identity of the insurgents was not revealed. Sonthi was
granted an extraordinary increase in executive powers to combat unrest
in the far South.
[6]
By 19 September 2006 (after Sonthi overthrew the Thai government), the
Army admitted that it was still unsure who to negotiate with.
[56]
Attacks and responses since 2004
A massive security presence in the region has failed to stem almost
daily violence, usually involving drive-by shootings or small bombings.
When the insurgents make a show of strength — generally at least every
few months — they have eschewed large-scale attacks, preferring
well-coordinated pinprick assaults at many locations while avoiding
direct clashes with security forces.
[57]
- On November 7, 2004, the Defence Minister
of Thailand said that there had been more than 700 casualties in south
Thailand since the unrest began in January. Many murders involved
shooting and decapitation.
- Songkhla bombings.
A series of three bombings on April 3, 2005 kill two people leave 66
injured. The bombings marked the beginning attacks on ethnic Thai
Chinese owned businesses whom are considered supporting of Thaksin and
against southern Thailand independence as a Muslim state.
- On July 19, 2005, the Thai Prime Minister enacted the "emergency
powers law" in order to manage the three troubled states. Several human
rights organizations and local press have expressed their concerns that
these new powers might be used to violate civil liberty rights. However,
the emergency decree was highly popular, with 72% of Bangkok residents
and 86% of people in the three southern provinces supporting it.[58]
- On September 1, 2005, three bombs exploded almost simultaneously.[59] Subsequently, as many as 131 Thais crossed into Malaysia to seek refuge.[60]
Thailand, suspecting that insurgents may also have fled with the
refugees, has asked Malaysia to return these Thai citizens but Malaysia
has refused on humanitarian grounds.[61]
- On 7 January 2006, four suspected militants fatally shoot two border-policemen in the back at a crowded weekend market in Yala Province. (The Nation) Three others were also killed in separate attacks on the same day.[62]
- On 18 June 2006, mass graves were found in southern Thailand[63][64]
- On 31 August 2006, 22 commercial banks were simultaneously bombed in Yala province, killing a retired military officer and wounding 24 people. Afterwards, Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin
announced that he would break with government policy and negotiate with
the leaders of the insurgency. However, he noted that "We still don't
know who is the real head of the militants we are fighting with."[65]
In a press conference the next day, he slammed the government for
political interference, and asked that the government "Free the military
and let it do the job."[66] By 16 September 2006, the Army admitted that it still wasn't sure who to negotiate with.[67]
- 2006 Hat Yai bombings. On 16 September 2006, six remotely detonated motorcycle bombs simultaneously exploded in the city of Hat Yai, killing four people and wounding more than sixty. A Canadian and a Malaysian were among the dead.[68]
As of September 2006, more than 1,400 people have died in less than
three years of southern violence. Most have been innocent bystanders,
both Buddhists and Muslims.
[69]
After the September 2006 coup
A brief lull in the insurgency followed the
19 September 2006 coup that overthrew the government of Premier
Thaksin Shinawatra. As Army Commander
Sonthi Boonyaratkalin settled into his role as head of the junta, violence resumed.
- On 21 September, 2 villagers were shot in Yala, killing one and wounding another.[70]
- On 23 September, 4 policemen were injured in a bus stop explosion in
Pattani. The bus stop was on a road that would be passed by the
motorcade of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn later that afternoon.[71][72]
- On 25 September, 2 police stations and a military outpost were
attacked by 30 gunmen in a coordinated series of attacks in Yala,
leaving 2 dead and 1 injured.[73]
- On 27 September, gunmen killed a grocer and two of his customers in
Muang district of Yala and a traveller on the bus from Panare district
to Mayo district of Pattani.[74]
- On 28 September, a teacher protection unit in Sungai Padi district
of Narathiwat province was ambushed by a bomb attack, seriously injuring
4 soldiers and killing one.[75]
- On 4 November, three schools burned to the ground and a person received a gunshot injury.[76]
- On 9 November, 8 car and motorcycle showrooms were simultaneously
bombed in Yala, injuring 13. Almost all gold shops in Muang district
closed down for fear of their safety. Commercial banks remained opened
but with tightened security.[77]
Despite the renewed violence, a post-coup opinion poll found that Southerners had become the happiest people of Thailand.
[78] From January 2004 to October 2006, 1,815 people were killed and 2,729 were wounded in the insurgency.
[79]
However, greater violence forced all schools in Yala, Pattani, and
Narathiwat provinces to be shut down indefinitely from 27 November 2006.
Over 1,000 schools were shut down.
[80][81]
Violence has continued into 2007, on February 18, a series of bombings and arsons began in
Narathiwat,
Yala and
Pattani, and
Songkhla provinces. 6 people were killed and over 50 were injured.
[82]
Between May 27 and May 29, 2007, several concerted bombings occurred,
both in Hat Yai downtown in front of markets, shops and hotels, and
also in Saba Yoi, altogether killing more than four people and injuring
over 20. The attacks targeted Chinese-Thai, who consider them 'Jews of
the Far East' because they are barred from the Thai civil service and
are mainly traders.
[83]
Post-coup reorganization
The junta implemented a major policy shift by replacing Thaksin's
earlier approach with a campaign to win over the "hearts and minds" of
the insurgents.
Junta
chairman Sonthi Boonyaratglin announced that the Southern Border
Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) and the Civilian-Police-Military
Task Force (CPM) 43 would be revived. Sonthi said the Army-led
multi-agency Southern Border Provinces Peace Building Command would be
dissolved and its troops would come under the CPM 43, which would
operate in parallel with the SBPAC. The SBPAC and CPM 43 had been
dissolved in mid-2001 by former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Before that,
CPM 43 was under the directive of the SBPAC. Sonthi also made himself
head of the
Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). Previously, the ISOC had been headed by the Prime Minister.
[84]
The ISOC was given 5.9 billion baht in funding for fiscal year 2007.
By May 2007, General Sonthi asked the government for an additional
emergency budget of 2 billion baht for ISOC, as the normal budget was
running out. The money was under the "secret budget" category, which
meant that state officials could spend it without having to account for
it to the government.
[85]
In November 2006, Prime Minister
Surayud Chulanont revealed that the insurgency was being financed by restaurants and stalls selling
Tom Yam Kung
in Malaysia. Surayud claimed that the Tom Yam Kung network collected
money from local businessmen through blackmail and demands for
protection fees and channelled the sum to the separatists.
[86] Malaysian Deputy Security Minister
Fu Ah Kiow
described the revelation as "absolutely baseless," and "very
imaginative." ISOC is heavily infiltrated by the growing Muslims
population in Thailand who are giving weight to the insurgency.
[87]
Junta-chief Sonthi announced that the insurgency was a second
priority for him, behind the issue of dealing with "undercurrents" who
still supported the deposed elected government.
[88]
Meanwhile, the junta shifted intelligence resources, surveillance
equipment, and phone-tapping equipment from the South to Bangkok, in
order to deal with political dissenters.
[89]
Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas also noted that worries over further
attacks in Bangkok did not focus on Southern insurgents, but rather on
"a man who is in exile" - a remark that the media interpreted as deposed
Prime Minister Thaksin.
[90]
Sonthi later refused to transfer additional troops to the South,
instead keeping them in Bangkok to perform what he called "community
relations work."
[91]
Ongoing violence
School shutdown
On November 27, 2006, after all schools in Pattani announced
indefinite shutdown, teachers in Yala and Narathiwat decided to follow
suit and close down the schools in the two provinces indefinitely due to
fear for safety. The decision in Pattani was made the week before after
a series of arson and the brutal and fatal shooting of 2
schoolteachers.
[92]
Escalating violence
Violence escalated in the months following the implementation of the
junta's "hearts and minds" campaign. The monthly death toll increased by
30% in the 5 months after the coup compared to the 5 months before the
coup.
[46] Insurgents targeted Princess
Sirindhorn by placing a bomb near her helicopter’s landing pad.
[93] A senior aide to Queen
Sirikit, Thanpuying
Viriya Chavakul, was injured and narrowly escaped death when gunmen attacked her vehicle convoy on 21 February 2007 in Yala.
[94]
She later criticized the government for rotating troops too often,
preventing them from building bonds with locals. She also made note of
troops' lack of communications equipment and bulletproof vests.
[95]
On January 14, a
rubber tapper named Pin Khotchathin was
beheaded in
Yala. His head was found at a
rubber plantation in Tambon Tasae in Yala's
Mueang district five metres from his body.
[96]
It was the 22nd murder to feature attempted beheading since May 2004,
although the militants were not always successful in removing their
victim's head.
[97]
A handwritten note was left near Pin's head warning of further bloodshed to avenge what the attackers, calling themselves
Pattani Warriors, claimed was a case of authorities killing
separatist members.
Facing rising violence, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont accused Muslim junta chief
Sonthi Boonyaratkalin of failing to do enough to curb the insurgency.
[98]
After an official visit to Thailand, Malaysian Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi volunteered to act as a mediator in arranging talks between insurgents and Thai authorities. Foreign Minister
Nitya Pibulsonggram rejected the offer.
[99]
During the
Chinese New Year weekend (from the evening of 18 February 2007 to the afternoon of 19 February 2007), insurgents
executed 38 bombing attacks, 26 cases of arson, and seven ambushes.
The bombings targeted hotels, karaoke bars, power grids and commercial
sites. Two public schools were torched. Three people were arrested.
[100][101]
Junta chief Sonthi and Interior Minister Aree Wongsearaya admitted that
they knew in advance that attacks were going to take place, then failed
to their occurrence.
[102] Aree later admitted that the government's southern strategy was flawed.
[103]
In their most significant act of economic terrorism and arson to
date, insurgents burned down the Southland Rubber warehouse in Yala,
destroying 5,000 tons of rubber worth approximately 400 million baht and
engulfing Yala city in a dense cloud of black smoke for 12 hours.
Thirty fire trucks fought to control the flames in the largest rubber
warehouse in the deep south. Spikes were scattered on the road leading
to the warehouse to slow down the emergency workers. No casualties were
reported.
[104]
On 14 March, 8 commuters from
Betong to
Hat Yai
were executed after their van was stopped by insurgents. A roadside
bomb delayed rangers stationed nearby in their efforts to reach the
site.
[105]
A Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO) executive blamed a portion of the violence directly on
paramilitary rangers who instigated violence and then blamed insurgents for their deeds.
[106]
Crown Prince
Vajiralongkorn's motorcade was against targeted with a bombing in March 2007. A local police team found the bomb before it could explode.
[107]
On 9 April 2007, a pick-up truck carrying students and other
passengers returning from a funeral was shot upon, killing two
12-year-old boys and two other 25-year-old university students. The
funeral was for the Khuen Bang Lang tambon administration organisation
chief, who was shot dead hours earlier the same day. The military
initially claimed that insurgents were behind the shooting. It later
admitted that
village defence volunteers
attacked, after allegedly being "provoked" by insurgent sympathisers on
the truck. Several hundred angry villagers staged protests against the
shooting, demanding the government take action against those
responsible.
[108]
Protest after a misapprehending shooting by security forces, Thai
soldiers in Pattani shot and killed three Muslim teenagers on 13 April
2007. The soldiers, who were dispatched to investigate the torching of
four mobile-phone relay outlets, opened fire on a group of teenagers
when the soldiers thought the teenagers were charging at them. Locals
reported that the teenagers were playing tag on the road near a weekly
open market close to where the soldiers were investigating. Three
teenagers, aged 13 to 15 years-old, were killed and two others were
injured. Local Army commander Colonel Wanchai Paungkhumsa initially said
the soldiers had acted in self-defense, saying that gunshots were fired
from where a teenager was standing. Residents ended their protest after
reaching a series of agreements with Pattani Governor Panu Uthairath
over the shooting. The military agreed to investigate the shootings, and
if it was a negligent act, The soldier would be faced criminal charge,
transferred out of the area and an apology would be given to locals.
[109]
May 14, 2007, Separatist insurgents shot dead a Thai-Buddhist couple
working as fruit pickers in the majority-Muslim area of Bannang Sata,
Yala provine and injured their three-year-old daughter. After gunning
down Praphan Ponlarak, 36, and his wife Chaddakan, the assailants
decapitated Praphan, making him the 29th victim to be beheaded in
Thailand's troubled deep South.
[110]
On August 3, 2008, five bombs went off in the town of Songkhla
injuring 2 people. The same night, two bombs also exploded in Hat Yai,
but caused no casualties.
[111]
Junta responses
In the face of escalating violence, the junta announced a switch from
defensive to "hard-line" tactics and an improvement of efforts to crack
down on narcotics abuse by insurgents.
[112]
In March 2007, the junta's top security advisor admitted that
insurgents imported their techniques from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and
were motivated by not only by nationalist reasons, like previous
generations of insurgents, but religious extremism as well.
[113][114] However, it noted that it still did not know who was behind the insurgency.
[115]
To protect the Buddhist minority from violence, the Internal Security Operations Command produced
Jatukham Rammathep
amulets for public distribution. The renowned animist amulets were
believed by some to have magical powers to protect their holders from
violence and large sums were generally paid for them. The plan was
developed by Colonel Manas Khongpan, deputy director of the ISOC in
Yala province.
[116]
In March 2007, Queen
Sirikit
vowed to protect people of all religions in the South, and initiated
weapons training programmes for locals, particularly teachers. Sirikit's
deputy aide-de-camp Napol Boonthap said that the government should
review its strategy and not only use a reconciliatory approach towards
the insurgents. "Legal action must also be taken against the wrongdoers
to show we mean business," he said.
[107]
In April 2007, junta chief Sonthi rejected an American offer to help
train Thai forces to quell the insurgency. Sonthi continued to deny that
international terrorists operate in the South.
[117]
In May 2007, Sonthi started withdrawing troops from the South,
replacing them with territorial defence volunteers. He did not say why
the regular army was to be reduced in the South.
[118]
Despite the above, violence continued with a noted trend towards
targeting soldiers and policemen, particularly after the militants'
actions were criticized by
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
[119]
On 9 May 2007, the army saw its worse casualty in a single incident in
years, when seven soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing incident.
[120] Two policemen were shot dead and their bodies burnt in another attack on 11 May 2007,
[121][122] which the authorities suspect were conducted by the same group which killed the soldiers.
[123] Another 11 soldiers were killed on 31 May 2007 in similar style to the incident on 9 May.
[124]
From January 2004 to 21 June 2007, the South witnessed 6,850 violent
incidents related to the insurgency. At least 2,303 people were killed
and more than 6,000 injured in that time, found
Srisompob Jitpiromsri of Prince of Songkhla University's Pattani campus.
[125]
In July 2007, Former Fourth Army chief Harn Leelanont criticized the
junta's reconciliation policy in the South, saying it left security
personnel incapable of containing the violence. He claimed that it left
officials and innocent people as sitting ducks to be picked off by
militants.
[126]
The military junta went on a massive spending spree, buying new weaponry and a dozen
fighter jets from
Sweden, saying it needed the hardware to battle the insurgency.
[127]
2009
December 8, 2009, a bombing at a local Thai market in Thailand's
south, killing two people and wounding nine others. The blast happened
about 1 km from a hotel where Thai Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva and his visiting Malaysian counterpart,
Najib Razak
were having lunch during a trip to the local region that same day.
Sources say the bomb was hidden in the gas tank of a motorcycle.
[128]
2010
On 2 January, three soldiers and 3 civilians were injured by roadside
bombs in Yala at 10 am in Bannang Sata district, Yala Province.
[129]
On 13 January, Mayo district chief Wirat Prasetto was seriously injured
along with ten other civilians when a bomb detonated at a pier in
Pattani province. The bombing is being blamed on Muslim insurgents. One
person was killed in the explosion.
[130]
On 1 April, suspect insurgents shot dead six villagers in Narathiwat
Province. Ten policemen and soldiers were also wounded when a roadside
bomb exploded as they were traveling to the scene of the shootings.
[131]
On 22 May, two female villagers were killed in a drive-by shooting in Yala Province by suspected separatist militants.
[132] On 28 May 2010, two were killed and 52 injured in two bomb attacks in Yala
[133]
On 8 September, police apprehended a
RKK leader while he was in his house in
Yala Province[134]
2011
On 11 February, three people were shot and burned.
[135] A car bomb exploded on the 13th which injured 18 people, civilians and soldiers, leaving seven hospitalised.
[136] Meanwhile, an insurgent was shot dead by soldiers.
On 22 March, a man and two women were shot in a village of
Narathiwat Province
on evening by about a dozen armed men. Police suspect the gunmen were
Muslim insurgents who believed their victims were informants.
[137]
The next day, a roadside bomb went off in a village in Narathiwat when a
truck carrying police arrived. None were wounded. The killings the
night before may have been intended to lure security personnel to the
scene to be attacked.
[137]
On 18 April, a car bomb exploded in the business district of
Yala, killing a Thai paramilitary ranger and injuring 23 people including four other rangers.
[138]
May 2011 was a particularly active month. On 3 May, two
grenades were fired at Pattani Task Force 21 base, but did not hurt anyone. On 11 May, a bomb blast during a football match in
Kapho District in
Pattani Province killed four officers and wounding 13 others. Eight suspects were detained. In
Yala Province, two officers and two civilians were injured after a roadside bomb detonated in
Meung District.
[139]
On 14 May, four insurgents came and demanded money from a gas station.
The wife of the owner refused, resulting them shooting her and her
sister. After that, the owner of the gas station came and shot dead one
of the insurgents, causing the other three to retreat. The dead
insurgent turned out to be a minor leader operating in the area who was
wanted for the 2009 Narathiwat bombings. On 17 May, a roadside bomb
detonated in
Yaha district in
Yala Province, killing two monks and seriously wounding two of their security escorts. More than 100 local
Muslims gathered at the local mosque and condemned the violence.
[140] On 18 May, a
Thahan Phran from the 47th Regiment was shot and seriously wounded in Yala, Meung District
[141] On 20 May, a 30-man
Thahan Phran unit from the same Regiment engaged and killed four insurgents in
Ban Charupae in
Tharn To district in Yala. They seized two
AK-47 assault rifles, a .38 caliber pistol and nine mobile phones. One of the dead was identified as
Ma-ae Aphibalbae, a key leader operating in the area who was sought for at least 28 alleged crimes, with a bounty of 2,000,000 baht.
[142][143] Meanwhile in
Narathiwat Province, two carbombs exploded, injuring a policeman and 8 other civilians.
[144]
On 22 May, in
Nong Chick,
Pattani Province, suspected insurgents shot a couple, Mr Pong and Mrs Somchit Khunee-art, killing both of them.
[145] On 24 May, in
Tak Bai,
Narathiwat Province,
a bomb detonated, killing a policeman and a policewoman while they were
distributing food to the local community. Pol Sgt Ubonwan Chindapetch
was the first policewoman to die in an explosion in the south.
[145] Meanwhile, in
Sai Buri District,
Pattani Province,
an unknown number of gunmen came and shot Muhammat Stapo, the younger
brother of Ismael Rayahlong, a major RKK leader operating in the area
who was suspected of the killing of two monks on 17 May.
[146][147] In
Krong Penang district,
Yala Province, insurgents shot dead Barudin Sama, assistant village head of Ban Tohbala as he was riding to the tea shop.
[145]
On 25 May, 12 soldiers from the 13 Regiment in Yala were ambushed by
three insurgents, resulting the death of one soldier, Private Chuchat
Kaeowonghio. A few hours later, a bomb detonated under a
humvee carrying 20 soldiers, seriously wounding 6 of them.
[147] On 27 May, police apprehended two RKK leaders in
Narathiwat Province[148] On 30 May, a bomb went off in
Meung District,
Yala Province,
wounding five soldiers, and on 31 May, two insurgents accidentally
detonated a bomb, killing themselves and injuring one other insurgent in
Narathiwat Province.
One of the dead was identified as Abas Abu, wanted on multiple charges
of attacking state officials and multiple bombings. His brother was the
insurgent shot dead in February 2011.
[149]
On 2 June, eight Navy SEALS from Narathiwat Task Force 32 clashed
with five RKK insurgents in the Budo Mountain Range, resulting the death
of three insurgents while the other two got away. They seized two
M16
Assault rifles, 1 .38 pistol, 1 land mine, 1 grenade and over 100
rounds of ammunition. Two of the dead insurgents were identified as
senior recruitment members of the RKK while the third was identified as
the bomb maker of the group.
[150][151][152] On 4 June, soldiers located two unexploded bombs in the middle of
Tak Bai Market.
[153]
On 1 October, a truck driver was shot and killed in
Pattani Province. In
Narathiwat Province,
Chanae distric,
a village chief was shot dead. A motorcade of the Southern Border
Provinces Administrative Centre secretary-general Panu Uthairat was
ambushed by armed men in Pattani, injuring none.
[154][155][156] On 3 October, three people were shot, two houses were burnt, and a bomb went off near a tank carrying six soldiers in
Pattani Province. Police found a hole dug on the Pattani-Yala railway line and said it was in preparation for a bomb attack.
[157] On 20 October, a wood trader was shot dead in
Narathiwat Province[158] On 25 October, 10 bombs went off in
Meung District,
Yala Province,
killing three people and injuring 44 others. Two of the dead were
insurgents whose bombs accidentally went off when they hit a speed hump.
Soldiers defused another 21 bombs. Over 60 insurgents were involved in
this attack. Two soldiers were injured in separate attacks in
Pattani Province.
[159]
On 30 October, two men were shot and injured by suspected insurgents in
Rueso District,
Narathiwat Province.
[160] On 31 October, 10 bombs went off in five districts across
Narathiwat Province,
injuring none. However, suspected insurgents shot dead two people at a
petrol station and a third at a nearby grocery shop. In
Yala Province, a police corporal was wounded in an explosion.
[161][162]
On 2 November, in
Yala Province,
a 20 kg bomb went off, injuring 2 police border patrol officers of the
Yala 44 regiment, and seriously injuring one other, Sansern Nama.
[163] On 3 November, in
Narathiwat Province, a 50-man police-military joint force arrested an insurgent who confessed to planting a bomb in Narathiwat on 30 October.
[164] While in
Ra-ngae District,
six hunters were killed and one seriously injured when insurgents blew
their truck up, and later that day, six other military personnel were
injured at the same place.
[165]
On 4 November, an unknown number of insurgents fired M-79 grenade
launchers into a military checkpoint, seriously injuring a passerby,
Tiem Bangkeaw in
Pattani Province.
[166] In
Narathiwat Province, a joint military-defense volunteer task force apprehended two suspected insurgents carrying a shotgun and a 9mm pistol.
[167][168]
On 14 November, in
Narathiwat Province,
Rusdee Hayeelau, a rubber taper, an unknown number of insurgents shot
three times in the body and died at the scene on his way to work.
[169] On 20 November, in
Narathiwat Province, a 50-men
Thahan Phran
squad from the 46th regiment got into a 30-minute gunfight with 4-5
groups of RKK insurgents, resulting the death of a key leader of the
RKK, with a bounty of over 1 million baht, and was responsible for
numerous attacks including one on the same regiment a year ago.
Moreover, they apprehended 2 other insurgents as well.
[170]
On 1 December, in
Yarang District,
Yala Province, a joint police-military-local government task-force apprehended a leader from the RKK group who is a teacher for insurgents.
[171]
Meanwhile, a soldier, Priavte Kriangkrai Pornhormfai, was killed after
stepping on a mine, and another, Siam Sealao, was seriously wounded. On 5
December, in
Narathiwat Province, a 40-man
Thahan Phran unit of the 45th regiment apprehended 3 suspected insurgents with a shotgun and some drugs.
[172]
2012
On 1 February, a
Thahan Phran, Thanong Sinthu, was shot in
Pattani Province.
[173]
On 3 February, an illegal oil trader was shot in
Bacho District,
Narathiwat Province. In a separate incident in
Pattani Province
a woman was killed and her husband and son were injured. Deep South
Watch announced 33 dead and 55 injured in January as a result of clashes
in south Thailand, with no insurgent casualties.
[174][175][176]
On 4 February, a truck driver, Mahama Yakee, was shot in
Pattani Province early in the morning.
[177]
On 21 February, in
Panare District,
Pattani Province, 3 insurgents were killed after they clashed with the 44th regiment Thahan Phran, while 3 rangers were injured and 2
AK-47 rifles were seized. In
Rueso District,
Narathiwat Province, a former
PULO
leader was shot dead at his home. He has been known to have been
approached by many RKK members to join their cause but he refused.
Finally, in
Si Sakhon District,
Narathiwat Province, a 100-man
Thahan Phran
from the 46th regiment clashed with around 10 insurgents resulting one
ranger, Sgt Rithidej Sriruangdej, seriously wounded, and key insurgent,
wanted for many arrest warrants, killed.
[178]
On 28 February, in
Raman District,
Yala Province,
soldiers from the 12th special task force clashed with 3 insurgents,
resulting the death of a key insurgent wanted on multiple charges and
the apprehension of another insurgent.
[179][180]
On 5 March, a blast at a market in the
Tak Bai District wounded 8.
[181][182]
On 7 March, 4 soldiers and a
rubber tapper were killed in two separate attacks in
Narathiwat and
Pattani Provinces.
[183] Two days later at least 50 militants attacked an army base in
Yala Province,
shooting electricity poles down to block escape routes, kidnapping 2
soldiers and injuring 12 more. The missing officers were later
discovered shot to death with their hands bound and their weapons gone.
[184]
On 10 March, a local
politician was shot dead with a
M-16 assault rifle and
9mm pistol in Pattani's Ka Por District by a group of four or five assailants in a
sedan.
[185]
On 12 March, two soldiers were wounded by a bomb explosion while providing security for teachers in
Pattani's
Sai Buri District.
[186][187] Meanwhile, in
Yarang District, an unknown number of persons set afire the office of the Rawaeng subdistrict Tambon Administration Organisation.
[188][189]
On 15 March, a motorcycle bomb exploded in Pattani, killing one villager and wounding three others including two soldiers.
[190]
On 17 March, one school girl was killed and four others injured, two critically, in a
roadside bomb attack apparently intended for soldiers in Pattani.
[191]
On 19 March, a member of a village security team was shot dead in
Pattani's
Yaring District.
[192][193]
On 21 March,
Thai army has accepted responsibility for killing four innocent
civilians in the insurgency-plagued south two months ago.
[194][195]
On 25 March, an assistant village head in
Narathiwat and a defence volunteer in Pattani were killed in
drive-by shooting's.
[196] At night, a policeman was shot dead by
militants in Pattani's
Yarang District.
[197]
On 29 March, a
security guard was killed in a
drive-by shooting's in Pattani’s Muang District.
[198]
On 31 March,
four bombs exploded in Yala shopping districts and the parking lot of a hotel in
Hat Yai, killing 16 and injuring more than 300 others.
[199][200]
On 3 April, a
police officer from the Muang Pattani police station was seriously wounded by a gunman at a
fishing pier in moo 6 of tambon Samilae in Pattani’s Muang District.
[201]
On 4 April, two men on a motorcycle hurled a
grenade at a
PTT gas station at Ban Pongsata in Pattani's
Yarang District.
[202]
On 5 April, a car care shop owner was killed and his son seriously injured in a shooting in Pattani's
Yaring District.
[203]
On 11 April, three villagers were killed when gunmen opened fire at them as they were leaving a mosque in Pattani's
Panare District.
[204]
On 13 April, five passengers were wounded when gunmen on motorcycles attacked a bus in Pattani's
Sai Buri District.
[205]
On 15 April, police seized large amounts of weapons including 4 M16 assault rifles in
Sai Buri District,
Pattani Province.
[206]
On 19 April, a 100-man squad clashed with a 14 insurgents in
Yala Province, resulting the death of 5 insurgents and the others managed to escape.
[207]
After some forensic work, it was revealed that one of the dead
insurgents was a key leader wanted on over 7 charges. Meanwhile in
Narathiwat Province, a 30-man
Thahan Phran
unit from the 45th regiment apprehended 2 RKK members wanted on
shooting 2 teachers in 2010. On a separate incident, a bomb detonated,
injuring 5 soldiers in the same province.
[206]
On 22 April, an insurgent was shot dead by combined police
Thahan Phran forces after resisting arrest in
Rueso District,
Narathiwat Province.
[208]
On 24 April village chief Sainung Ada was shot dead in
Narathiwat Province.
[209] In
Tak Bai District, a bomb detonated injuring 3 civilians and 5 soldiers. A 5-year old boy was among the injured.
[210]
On 23 July, a rubber tapper, Prinya Sinbut, was shot twice in the body and once in the arm, and is seriously wounded in
Mae Lan District,
Pattani Province.
On 25 July, after a warning that insurgents will intensify attacks during
Ramadan, 5 anti-drug officers were killed and one seriously injured in a car bomb in
Raman District. Authorities believe was in retaliation for recent drug suspect arrests.
[211]
On 26 July, 2 men, Seng Changkid, and Kittisak Chamnanlee were slain after they left their house in
Bannang Sata District[212] and an assistant village headman, Haree Vaebuesar, was shot dead in an ambush in
Raman District.
[213] All three events occurred in
Yala Province.
On 28 July, four soldiers were killed in an ambush by 16 militants.
[214]
On 29 July, 5 other civilians, all around
Yala Province, were shot dead by insurgents.
[215] In addition to this, 4 soldiers were wounded in an attack in the same province.
[216]
On 11 September, over 100 insurgents including a major leader, Jae
A-Lee, from the group Badan Penyelarasan Wawasan Baru Melayu Patani,
surrendered to military authorities, demanding justice in exchange for
halting the insurgency. Jae A-Lee also claimed that two other core
leaders are in the process of submitting to the military. Jae A-Lee's
one million baht bounty, as a reuslt of the deaths of 4 soldiers in 4
January, has also been whitewashed.
[217]
2013
On 10 February, insurgents killed five soldiers and wounded five
others in two roadside bomb attacks in Yala province. According to Thai
military officials, in the first attack militants detonated a car bomb
as a truck carrying six soldiers passed by. Then they opened fire on the
soldiers killing five of them, and taking away the dead soldiers'
rifles.
[218]
On 13 February, at least 17 Muslim insurgents including a commander
were killed during an attack on a military base in Narathiwat. None of
the Thai military defenders of the base were hurt.
[219]
On 12 April, two soldiers were killed and six others wounded in a
road side bombing. Suspected militants detonated an improvised bomb
hidden on the road surface Pattani province's Panarae district. The
soldiers were in two armored vehicles traveling Wednesday night to
inspect damages from an earlier militant attack. One of the personnel
carriers was badly damaged .
[220]
On 26 April, four soldiers were killed and another four seriously
injured while attempting to defuse a bomb. According to Thai
authorities, the blast happened after troops moved the device which was
hidden under a gas tank and placed under a bridge near the Narathiwat
military base.
[221]
On 1 May, police say suspected insurgents have killed six people
including a two-year-old boy in one of the deadliest shootings in
Thailand's south this year.
[222]
Peace talks were also started in Kuala Lumpur in February at the
behest of Malaysia. Barisan Revolusi Nasional's Hassan Taib led the
talks, while the Thai government's team was led by Secretary-General of
the National Security Council Lieutenant General Paradon Pattanatabut,
tasked by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. However, the exiled leader
of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation, Kasturi Mahkota, said
attacks by his group would continue if they were not invited to the
talks. For his part, Pattanatabut said that Thailand would not agree to
independence or any contravention of the
constitution of Thailand, but would seek to discuss degress of autonomy and an amnesty with the rebels.
[1]
2014
February 9, A policeman's wife was shot dead and then set on fire in
front of a terrified crowd at a busy market in Pattani, Thailand,
officials reported. The woman, 28, was shot down on the afternoon of
February 9, 2014 as she returned to her car from a market in the
Ratapanyang area of Pattani province. After being shot, the woman's body
was set alight, a police officer told AFP. The attack was allegedly
carried out in revenge for the deaths of three Muslim brothers that took
place during the week of February 2, 2014, aged three, five and nine.
The boys were shot in front of their home in neighbouring Narathiwat
province. Their pregnant mother and father were also shot in the attack
but survived.
Srisompob Jitpiromsri, at Prince of Songkla University in Pattani,
said the boys' deaths "have set off a chain-reaction which will be hard
to control unless authorities can bring to justice their killers".
"The insurgent movement is taking their deaths as an opportunity for
revenge. Local feelings over this are running very high," he said.
[13]
May 24: Three people were killed and about 80 injured in 13 bomb blasts at at least five 7/11 stores and two gas stations.
May 28: Violence continued in Pattani as a bomb blast at a hospital
car park injured 10 people including a soldier. Those injured included
Pvt Phonlawat Nonthasen. The most seriously wounded in attacks that have
left two dead and more than 70 wounded was a three-year-old girl,
Vaesiteeaija Vaelong maimed for life when doctors had to amputate the
remains of her right leg after it was mangled by the blast.
[223]
10.05
Unknown
