Southern Thai violence increases
Third attack in two days injures dozens at busy market but PM denies escalation.
Thailand’s troubled south |
Area was semi-autonomous Islamic Malay sultanate until annexed by Thailand in 1902 Malay-Muslims complain assimilation policies have restricted their customs Several violent uprisings have been put down by army over the century Latest uprising flared in 2004 after three years of tough policies on the south by Thaksin Shinawatra, the then PM Despite martial law imposed in 2004, near daily attacks blamed on Muslim fighters have left about 2,800 people dead and many injured, including Muslims |
An army spokesman called the ambush a reaction to what he claimed was the military’s progress in tracking down leaders of an uprising in the mostly-Muslim south.
Attacks in the south have declined since August, down by almost half to about 20 recorded incidents in the September to November period, according to the Deep South Watch centre at Pattani’s Prince of Songkhla University.
But Monday’s ambush came just an hour after a roadside bomb targeted another convoy protecting teachers in Yala province, injuring two of the soldiers, local police said.