BANGKOK: Three people were shot dead in a night of violence across Thailand’s restive deep south, in apparently coordinated attacks coinciding with a visit by the new minister for the Muslim-majority region.
The assaults began late on Wednesday and rippled out over a wide area in the following hours with shootings, arson and bombings as well as the unfurling of banners decrying Thailand, which colonised the region over a century ago.
More than 6,600 people – most of them civilians – have died in a 12-year insurgency across the country’s southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia as Muslim rebels fight for greater autonomy from the Buddhist-majority state.
Two security guards were gunned down in Songkhla, one of the four provinces claimed as a historic sultanate by the rebels.
“They were shot and killed at a car showroom,” Lieutenant Colonel Pipop Chanapol said, adding that the suspected rebels then torched the premises.
In another fatal attack, a soldier was shot dead while guarding an office for war veterans in Pattani province, police said.
Several people were wounded in numerous other shootings and small bomb attacks in Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat.
Ethnic Malay Muslim rebels are suspected of being behind the violence although they rarely claim responsibility, instead using fear and subterfuge to hide within local communities.
The attacks appeared timed to coincide with a day trip to the south by Udomdej Sitabutr, a former army chief who was recently appointed minister for the troubled region.
Udomdej, who is also deputy defence minister, is heading a newly minted Cabinet for the region with a remit to bring peace.
But peace talks have sputtered.
The Thai side is unconvinced that the rebel representatives at the table can control the violence, while the rebels do not believe the junta will concede political autonomy anytime soon. — AFP
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
