Premature explosions kill 2 Muslim insurgents in Thailand

The attacks were the first major assault since a key rebel group, the BRN — Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Revolutionary Front) — issued a rare public statement on April 10 appearing to reject talks the Thai government has been holding with them as part of a coalition of insurgent groups known as MARA Patani. The BRN is assumed to be the most militant of the groups, while others have smaller followings.

The statement called for new talks mediated by impartial third parties. Some of the insurgents’ representatives involved in the current talks live in neighbouring Malaysia, which hosts the negotiations, and are susceptible to pressure from the government there. The statement also implied that the new talks should not include some current insurgents considered not representative of active groups.

The Thai government has rejected the proposal.

It was the second major set of co-ordinated attacks in two weeks. On April 7, suspected insurgents set off dozens of bombs in southern Thailand, bringing down power lines and setting tires on fire to block roads, but causing no deaths or injuries.

The spike in violence at the beginning of this month was in response to the March 29 extrajudicial killings of two suspected insurgents, said Don Pathan, a security analyst who lives in the region.

“The militants were hitting both soft and hard targets. But in the incident on Wednesday evening, the combatants wanted to show that they can also go after military and police targets as well. It’s their way of reminding the authorities of their capabilities,” he said.

Pathan said the attacks were aimed at forcing the government to accept the insurgents’ conditions for talks.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Premature explosions kill 2 Muslim insurgents in Thailand

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