Muslim Insurgency spectacular raids in Southern Thailand
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Four Thai soldiers killed, 18 schools torched in restive Muslim south
BANGKOK, : Unidentified assailants stormed a military compound early Sunday and shot dead four soldiers while also burning 18 schools in the worst unrest in Muslim-majority southern Thailand in months, police say.
"A group of 30 armed men launched a series of three attacks in nine districts of two provinces in southern Thailand early Sunday morning," army spokesman Colonel Somkuan Saengpattaranetr told AFP.
The killings occured when several of the attackers raided a military base in the province of Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia, and stole a cache of weapons, the colonel said.
Somkuan could not specify the number of weapons stolen but Thai media reports put it at about 100 guns.
No one was injured in the burning of the 18 schools, 16 of which are in Narathiwat and two in neighbouring Yala province. Two police checkpoints were also torched in the attack, Somkuan added.
A major search operation was launched, with authorities contacting counterparts in Malaysia to seek cooperation on border hunts.
Thailand's five southern Muslim majority provinces have been plagued in recent years by small-scale Muslim separatist violence and what Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has fingered as attacks led by criminal elements protecting lucrative arms smuggling operations.
The region was wracked by a spate of violence in 2001 and 2002 during which more than 20 policemen were killed, trains bombed, government offices attacked and weapons depots raided.
- AFP
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/64711/1/.html -
oh shit. i'm going to some Thai military base tomorrow.
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This is indeed very disturbing news. I tot the problem has been totally eradicated. So now there is about 30 fully armed men running about freely.
Not a new problem for MAF to handle. I hope they clean up soon. -
I think you got it totally wrong, it is for the Thai to handle, MY has always morally supported the muslim separatist.Originally posted by Fairyland:This is indeed very disturbing news. I tot the problem has been totally eradicated. So now there is about 30 fully armed men running about freely.
Not a new problem for MAF to handle. I hope they clean up soon.
After most attacks, they will then escaped back to MY, MY police simply Bo Chap, even with tip & description from Thai.
That is why the problem is never solved.
CHARGE!!!
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indeed... in fact... its known that malaysia is eyeing the 4southern thai province and has made no secret about that...
there is no way they gonna be catching people who are trying to make malaysia bigger at the expense of thailand...
the thais would be naive to think that malaysia would have a listening ear to their complaints... muahahahahaa......
but who is to say.... with the recent crisis... afew strong words from thai PM would probably be enough to make Abdullah scramble for action to patch up the mutual ties...
the last thing malaysia want is to loose 4 northern states to angry thai soldiers....."chasing muslim separatist"
but then.... that would help UMNO solved the PAS problem too....
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For the record RTA/RTP has asked MAF/RMP to close the border + increase security measures along the border.As we speak RMP SOF (MAF SOF as well????) are conducting special ops to nab the bandits.And an official statements for the Thai govt said today..."they are not even sure if the bandits went south..Malaysia"
Just because that southern part were a bit "controlled" by the muslim......it does not mean the whole episode were conducted by muslim terrorists.Why the heck muslim brothers burned 10 religious school???Remember that years back LTTE minisubs were found in Thailand......
***some of you guys here just aint worth a single cents.....do you realise that now there's a bandit group somewhere in these region armed with over 300 M16,M60s???listen up boys......either you with us or against us(with regards to the terrorist busting ops)
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Yeah tink you 've got a point there, just y would the muslim burned 10 religious school?Originally posted by HARIMAU:Just because that southern part were a bit "controlled" by the muslim......it does not mean the whole episode were conducted by muslim terrorists.Why the heck muslim brothers burned 10 religious school???Remember that years back LTTE minisubs were found in Thailand......
It makes just as much sense as y would the muslims carry out mindless attacks in Turkey(of all the countries Turkey)!
Just like Y would the muslim blew themselves at the expense of innocent lives?
Just like y would the muslim carried out the Bali bombing incident?
And the more I come to tink about it the more "y" I got in my head. -
Well, we will see how the MY govt help the Thai on this especially with Thai soldiers killed.Originally posted by HARIMAU:For the record RTA/RTP has asked MAF/RMP to close the border + increase security measures along the border.As we speak RMP SOF (MAF SOF as well????) are conducting special ops to nab the bandits.And an official statements for the Thai govt said today..."they are not even sure if the bandits went south..Malaysia"
Just because that southern part were a bit "controlled" by the muslim......it does not mean the whole episode were conducted by muslim terrorists.Why the heck muslim brothers burned 10 religious school???Remember that years back LTTE minisubs were found in Thailand......
***some of you guys here just aint worth a single cents.....do you realise that now there's a bandit group somewhere in these region armed with over 300 M16,M60s???listen up boys......either you with us or against us(with regards to the terrorist busting ops)
Based on past history, MY is certainly no help in controlling their border as well as the capture of these muslim separatist who escaped to MY in the past.
Another thing, the report said schools, not religious schools, where you get that info from?
CHARGE!!! -
Originally posted by gary1910:
Yeah I read up on that one too and it says schools.
Well, we will see how the MY govt help the Thai on this especially with Thai soldiers killed.
Based on past history, MY is certainly no help in controlling their border as well as the capture of these muslim separatist who escaped to MY in the past.
Another thing, the report said schools, not religious schools, where you get that info from?
[b]CHARGE!!!
[/b]
oops something amiss here does that mean he/she knows than meets the eye?
Creepy I'm off now -
100 guns only?
i read they got 300+..........including heavy infantry support weapons and anti-armour weapon......... -
Thats enough weapon to arm half a battalion men..Originally posted by snk86:100 guns only?
i read they got 300+..........including heavy infantry support weapons and anti-armour weapon.........
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Did anyone mention that the TWENTY Schools burnt were Islamic Relgious Schools ? (See continuing development below).Originally posted by HARIMAU:For the record RTA/RTP has asked MAF/RMP to close the border + increase security measures along the border.As we speak RMP SOF (MAF SOF as well????) are conducting special ops to nab the bandits.And an official statements for the Thai govt said today..."they are not even sure if the bandits went south..Malaysia"
Just because that southern part were a bit "controlled" by the muslim......it does not mean the whole episode were conducted by muslim terrorists.Why the heck muslim brothers burned 10 religious school???Remember that years back LTTE minisubs were found in Thailand......
***some of you guys here just aint worth a single cents.....do you realise that now there's a bandit group somewhere in these region armed with over 300 M16,M60s???listen up boys......either you with us or against us(with regards to the terrorist busting ops)
These schools were set up by the Thai Government, and if they were religious schools, they will probably teach State sanctioned syllabus and curriculum - probably in response to the radical syllabus and curriculum being taught in most un-monitored religious schools beyond the reach of both the Governments of Thailand and Malaysia.
The Thai-Malaysian border has been a sensitive area to both countries - the Thais being concerned with the Muslim insurgencies being given support by the Malaysian radical brothers in the northern Peninsular Malaysian states controlled by PAS; while the Malaysian side is concerned with the on-going 2-way smuggling of Thai rice and agricultural products that threaten similar Malaysian produce, and the smuggling of State subsidised Petronas fuel and sugar back to Thailand.
Some of the secondary concerns from the Malaysian side were the constant crossing of criminals, as well as the remnants of the Malaysian Communist Party that operate along the border area prior to their final declaration to give up their struggle in the early 1990s.
A concrete wall and barbed wired - chain linked electric fence was constructed during the mid-1980s, across the length of the Thai-Malaysian border - stretching from the West Coast to the East Coast, from the Straits of Malacca to the South-China Sea.
Bombs explode in Pattani
Disposal experts die defusing explosive
Two bombs went off in Pattani yesterday, killing two police bomb experts in the second day of heightened violence rocking the deep South.
The first explosion occurred in Somdet Phra Srinakarin park. Witnesses said a man on a motorcycle threw a plastic bag in a rubbish bin about five metres from a police box.
Ten minutes later, the bin exploded and flying shrapnel wounded Pol Sgt Prakong Khiri in the left ear. He was rushed to hospital. Doctors said his condition was not serious.
The impact of the home-made bomb in the plastic bag also damaged a nearby toilet and some shops.
Later in the afternoon, another bomb was discovered under the pillion seat of a motorcycle parked outside Pithan Panich Co in downtown Pattani.
The bomb went off as two bomb experts, Pol Sgt-Maj Boon-ek Petchsri and Pol Sgt-Maj Sarit Kateb, were about to defuse it. The blast killed both officers.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said it was unlikely the two blasts were perpetrated by the same people who set fire to 20 schools and raided a military camp in neighbouring Narathiwat province on Sunday morning.
Mr Thaksin has ordered a radical review of security and intelligence standards and told the authorities to arrest the culprits within seven days.
The simultanous torching of 20 schools and the looting of an army camp in Narathiwat was most regrettable, he said.
Mr Thaksin said intelligence was flawed and under-utilised. Security agencies were working out of sync. Local communities and the state agencies were estranged due to distrust and stronger community ties must be forged.
Stealing the weapons from the Narathiwat Ratchanakarin military camp was the raiders' ultimate goal, he said.
Torching the schools was a diversionary ploy, Mr Thaksin said, adding that demand for firearms was high among bandits. Earlier reports said some of the stolen weapons were being sold to Aceh rebels in Indonesia. He insisted the arsonists who burned down the schools were not terrorists.
The attackers raided the camp minutes after their accomplices set fire to the schools across 11 districts of Narathiwat. They stole 102 rifles from the camp.
In the past, state officials assisted in weapons robberies but the arm of the law never reached them because inquiries fell short of bringing them to account.
Mr Thaksin criticised agencies concerned for being soft on the problem. They were not persistent or committed enough to press for a permanent solution. "Those charged with this duty became slack when I had other tasks on my hands," the prime minister said.
Mr Thaksin admitted the raiders were not common "bandits" and even acknowledged they had executed their plan of destruction in a well-coordinated manner.
But he said the bandits thrived on the authorities' weakness. The security agencies refused to coordinate with one another and intelligence warnings often went unheeded.
Mr Thaksin said revamping security would begin from the top. Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who is in charge of national security, must preside over a host of concerted entities made up of various security agencies at all levels.
When asked why he was not transferring officials who had failed to prevent the attacks, Mr Thaksin said time was running out for those who were incompetent.
"Some loose screws need tightening. Those in disrepair will be flushed out of the system," he said. The military should have known the bandits were after their weapons, but instead had been complacent in the face of threats.
"They had the whole stockpile [to guard] but still were not careful. They had a barracks full of soldiers and still they were not careful. They deserved to die," he said.
for pics and map of the incident, visit the following site:
http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/06Jan2004_news06.html -
For such a large scale operation to be pulled off successfully and till now(12/01/04) still unable to crack really created lots of questions. They must have the backing of influencial people or large organisations. Suspects can be from large crime syndicates(as officially declared),muslim separatist movement(they wanted a separate muslim state away from Thailand),foreign muslim terrorist organisations such as the Al Queda(as a form of reprisal for being a strong US ally and supporting the Iraq war militarily. Another less likely suspect may be that involved Thailand's southern neighbour trying to cause unrest in Thailand so that they can reap some benefits such as new states or so that Thailand can't beat them to gain the developed nation status.The last suspect involving a neighbouring country is not likely as i don't think they want the muslim insurgency to spread into their own country especially not when the economy is just finally improving. Any comments?
