Attacks Reported in Thai Muslim Region BANGKOK, Thailand - Unidentified assailants fired grenades at an army camp, shot and wounded a former police officer and detonated a bomb near the home of a judge in separate attacks in Thailand's Muslim south, officials and reports said.
The violence came after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordered security forces to step up efforts to curb violence in the southern provinces, believed to be the work of Muslim separatists. The tougher tactics include more patrols, checkpoints and taking action to track down suspects before they launch attacks. In the attack on the army camp, two men on motorcycles launched rocket-propelled grenades late Saturday into the soldiers' makeshift kitchen, Region 9 police radio reported. No one was hurt in the attack in the Sisakorn district of Narathiwat province. Earlier in the same province, a homemade bomb packed with nails and metal scraps exploded near the home of a judge, said police Col. Kachen Kochaparayuk. No one was hurt. Police said unidentified attackers "trying to cause chaos" triggered the bomb using a cell phone. Also Saturday, former police Sgt. Somchoke Siriwat, 40, was shot in the leg, arm and stomach by two attackers while walking near a store in Pattani province, said Lt. Col. Vichai Changsakul. Separately, authorities in the Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat, near the border with Malaysia, found a fake bomb made from sand and electrical wires at the base of a tree outside a public library, Kachen said. Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, but the southern provinces near Malaysia have Muslim majorities. A low-key separatist movement simmered in the area for decades and almost vanished after a government amnesty in the 1980s. However, the area has seen a surge of violence in the past two years. At least 284 people have been killed there since January, including 107 militants who were gunned down by security forces on April 28. Unidentified assailants have targeted mainly police, government officials, village leaders and teachers from the Buddhist community. Thai Muslims in the south have complained of discrimination in jobs and education, and heavy-handed treatment by the central government ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.arsip.da.ru *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Posting: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
