South Thailand: 8,000 attacks in past six years

Almost 8,000 insurgent attacks have taken place in the lower South during the past six years of separatist turmoil.

The Southern Border Province Police Bureau (SPB) yesterday released a report on the insurgency in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since violence renewed in the region in 2004.

The report said 11,047 violent incidents had taken place in the strife-torn region. It said 7,984 of them were considered the work of southern separatist militants. The attacks killed 4,137 people and injured 7,135, the report said.

Seventy-one insurgency-related attacks were reported in the three provinces last month alone, leaving 39 people dead and 57 injured.

Thirty-seven of the attacks were shootings and the rest were bomb attacks.

Bangkok Post