Violence in southern Thailand leaves three dead, more than twenty wounded
Narathiwat (AsiaNews/Agencies) Three people were killed and 21 wounded in the last two days in a series of bomb blasts and shootings across Thailand's south, officials said. The provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani were the hardest hit.
The bombings began late on Wednesday August 31 with three almost simultaneous explosions at a karaoke bar and two hotels in the town of Sungai Kolok on the Malaysian border.
The other violent incidents occurred yesterday. A police officer who was escorting teachers to school was killed and his colleague and two teachers were injured in an explosion in the Sungai Padi district of Narathiwat province. Another bomb in Narathiwat town exploded early yesterday, injuring three villagers.
In Yala province, a 38-year-old Muslim religious teacher, Abduloh Malee, died early yesterday after being shot in the head by two gunmen.
In the last 20 months, some 900 people have died in violent incidents in Thailand's predominantly Muslim south. Muslim separatist groups want the southern provinces to secede from the country.
But some analysts believe that common criminals and other groups might be playing a role in the crisis in order to take advantage of the situation of chaos.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has become a target in Narathiwat province. Suspected militants yesterday left effigies of him, Thai flags tied around their necks, bearing threatening messages.
In the meantime, civilians are fleeing the affected areas. According to some reports, 131 Thai Muslims, including 43 children, crossed into Malaysia' Kelantan state on August 30 asking for asylum. They are currently in the custody of local authorities and housed in two local mosques, but will eventually be handed over to immigration authorities for further action.
Given the situation, Malaysian authorities said they were stepping up security along the border.
For Thai police, the recent wave of violence represents the response by Islamic rebels to the first defections in their ranks after the government imposed tighter security measures. At least 40 rebels are said to have surrendered to the authorities hoping to benefit from new amnesty provisions in the law.
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