Bangkok. Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul held an emergency meeting with senior security officials on Sunday. There is already a flood crisis in the north of the country. Meanwhile, violence took place simultaneously in three provinces of the south overnight. In these areas, some Muslim insurgent organizations are fighting against the government and demanding separate governance for their areas.
Why did PM Anutin call the meeting?
This meeting took place shortly before Anutin left for the north. He had to take stock of the badly flood affected Nan province. The meeting was called after 51 incidents occurred in the last three provinces of the south on Saturday night. These include Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
The attackers had no encounter with the army or police. So far only three civilians are known to be injured. It was told on Sunday that the condition of all three is improving.
Small bombs were mainly used in the violence. Arson was committed. Properties were also damaged. The biggest target was Pattani's 7-Eleven store. In a video circulating on social media, armed men were seen roaming outside the store. Customers and employees were seen running from there. After this the store was set on fire.
Railway tracks were damaged by a bomb in Narathiwat. Due to this, local and long distance train services had to be stopped. Due to the security situation being unclear, it was not known when services would resume. In such incidents, no organization is often immediately publicly blamed. This time too no organization immediately took responsibility for the attacks.
Why is BRN believed to be behind the attacks?
However, it is generally believed that such attacks are carried out by Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani i.e. BRN. This is the main rebel organization of the South. He has both the organization and the support to take such action. This is the organization with which the Thai government has been holding peace talks from time to time.
Most people in Thailand are Buddhists. But its three southernmost provinces have a majority Muslim population. BRN has said that it wants a system of self-governance for these provinces. Muslims have long complained that they are treated like second-class citizens in Thailand. Separatist movements have also been active from time to time for several decades.
7,837 people died in 22 years?
In 2004, rebel violence suddenly increased significantly. In response to this the government took strict action. This further increased dissatisfaction among the people. According to Deep South Watch, a think tank based on the campus of Prince of Songkala University in Pattani, 7,837 people have died in this violence in the last 22 years.
The last major incident of this violence took place in July. At that time, about 10 attackers opened fire on soldiers at a security post in Narathiwat. They also threw pipe bombs at the soldiers. Five soldiers of the paramilitary force were killed in this attack. Six civilians were injured. A 10 year old boy was also included in these.