Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) More than 100 young Islamic militants ended up losing their lives after clashes erupted with police today in southern Thailand.
Five police officers also died in the clashes.
At daybreak groups of Muslim separatists, between the ages of 16-20, attacked over 15 police stations and district offices in the Muslim majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Songkhla in an attempt to steal a cache of weapons.
Local sources say the aggressors wore black clothes with bandanas around their headed and carried a few guns, knives and machetes. Thirty or so militants were able to escape and take refuge in mosques in Kruesei. Yet the Thai army killed them after tossing small bombs at the building and using tear gas.
Thai police officials say today's operations have led to the arrest of 17 Muslims and wounding of 15 others. Thailand's prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has pledged to root out the "instigators of disorder" and denied the existence of any link between the country's Muslim militia and international fundamentalist terrorist organizations.
This morning's attacks were the worst in a long series of incidents, reeking havoc in the southern part of the country. The attacks were orchestrated by armed Thai militants who began assaulting police forces, Buddhist monks and soldiers, claiming secession from the southern Buddhist
Meanwhile state troops have tightened controls along the border of Malaysia, a neighboring Muslim country where, according to Bangkok, many Islamic separatists are stationed. The Thai government has tried to play down today's attacks, by avoiding making references to separatist rebels and preferring instead to pass blame on "criminal gangs and arms and drug dealers."
Many analysts believe the attacks have links to international Islamic terrorism. One the militants killed was wearing a "JI" T-shirt. "JI" stands for Jemaah Islamiah, the terrorist organization in Southeast Asia to blame for the Bali attacks. The Thai minister of defense, General Chettha Thanajaro, believes the militants have lost at least a third of their combatants in today's fighting.
Meanwhile the general population is getting worried, fearing that it will have put up with ever greater social disorder in the country's Muslim dominated southern regions. Last week, during similar attacks, 50 government buildings were set ablaze in just one evening.
In Thailand, Buddhists form 94.8% of the population, while Muslims and Christians form a minority of a mere 4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Muslims from the southern provinces are seeking greater respect for their language and culture, complaining that only Thai is taught in public schools while they only speak Yawi, a dialect of nearby Malaysia. They are also among the country's poorest.
The frustration caused by the Thai government polices has led the country's Muslim population to act on their separatist feelings for decades, which finally came to conclusion in the 1980s after the promulgation of a government amnesty.
Yet last Jan. 4 new violence erupted when a military base was attacked and 21 schools were made victims of arson. Since the beginning of this year, such clashes have provoked around 160 deaths. (PB, MR)