DPA
Pattani, Thailand - An explosion Monday at a crowded morning market in Yala City injured 28 people, two of them critically, army sources said.
The bomb, planted inside a motorcycle that was parked near a pork meat vendor at Yala's open-air market, exploded at 7:30 am, injuring the civilians and three soldiers, First Army Region chief Lieutenant General Phichit Wisaijorn said.
He blamed Muslim separatists for the latest act of violence.
'We had received a tipoff to prepare for a car bomb, but they used a motorcycle instead,' Phichit said. Police reportedly checked the parked motorcycle minutes before it went off, but failed to detect the bomb.
Thailand's three southernmost provinces - Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - have been plagued by violence since January 4, 2004, when Muslim militants raided an army depot, killing four soldiers and making off with 300 weapons, escalating the separatist struggle.
An estimated 3,500 people have died in clashes, bombings, revenge killings and beheadings in Thailand's so-called deep south
Besides a long-simmering separatist struggle in the region, which borders Malaysia, the three provinces have a recent history of lucrative but illicit trade in smuggling, drugs and protection rackets.
About 80 per cent of the region's 2 million people are Muslims. Of the 300,000 Thai Buddhists who lived in the region, some 70,000 have reportedly left their homes over the past six years.
Although the region, which centuries ago was the independent Islamic sultanate of Pattani, was conquered by Bangkok about 200 years ago, it has never wholly submitted to Thai rule.
Analysts said the region's Muslim population, the majority of whom speak a Malay dialect and follow Malay customs, feels alienated from the predominantly Buddhist Thai state.
The bomb, planted inside a motorcycle that was parked near a pork meat vendor at Yala's open-air market, exploded at 7:30 am, injuring the civilians and three soldiers, First Army Region chief Lieutenant General Phichit Wisaijorn said.
He blamed Muslim separatists for the latest act of violence.
'We had received a tipoff to prepare for a car bomb, but they used a motorcycle instead,' Phichit said. Police reportedly checked the parked motorcycle minutes before it went off, but failed to detect the bomb.
Thailand's three southernmost provinces - Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - have been plagued by violence since January 4, 2004, when Muslim militants raided an army depot, killing four soldiers and making off with 300 weapons, escalating the separatist struggle.
An estimated 3,500 people have died in clashes, bombings, revenge killings and beheadings in Thailand's so-called deep south
Besides a long-simmering separatist struggle in the region, which borders Malaysia, the three provinces have a recent history of lucrative but illicit trade in smuggling, drugs and protection rackets.
About 80 per cent of the region's 2 million people are Muslims. Of the 300,000 Thai Buddhists who lived in the region, some 70,000 have reportedly left their homes over the past six years.
Although the region, which centuries ago was the independent Islamic sultanate of Pattani, was conquered by Bangkok about 200 years ago, it has never wholly submitted to Thai rule.
Analysts said the region's Muslim population, the majority of whom speak a Malay dialect and follow Malay customs, feels alienated from the predominantly Buddhist Thai state.
10 comments:
Hell is looking for you now ah Thai.,
Good news
Burma, Lao and Cambodia border with Siam
should do the same.
Why not in BangKOCK?
Hope Khmer origins who's in Thai get up and fight for their freedom, and become one Khmer kingdom.
High plateau Khmers need to join UNPO like Khmers in Mekong Delta. They need to form Khmer Hanuman Rights Advocacy body to participate in Abhisit's ASEAN human lights endeavour.
To all of my brother and sister in the SOUTHERN( YALA) we all will continue our fighting, until our people FREE!!! from Thai Govt's abousive, YALA must be FREE NOW!!!!!! or will fight until the last drop of YALA blood!!!!!
Kilo#9 P.PENH
Thai Govt must let my people goes FREE! stop Thai Gov't abusive toward my people...NOW!!
Thai Govt must let my people goes FREE! stop Thai Gov't abusive toward my people...NOW!! or we fight to the death....
That is it?
No...that is not it! More to come...While the Thai continue to kill the Cambodian people and the Muslim are taking revenge for the killing of their innocence Muslim brother and sister! We Muslim live under ALLAH not Thai rule!
My people had suffered for so long under Thai-Gov't's abusive, i wants to send message to Thais government, you must stop abusing my brother and sister in the Southen...Yala, we will not stop our fight until our people are Free from Thai-Gov't's abused......
Death to Thailand and it Gov't!!
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