The Hindu : International : Raids coordinated, says Thailand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

International

International

Raids coordinated, says Thailand

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, APRIL 28. At least 107 militants and five security personnel were killed across three provinces in southern Thailand today as "armed assailants'' attacked several police outposts and checkpoints at the stroke of dawn in apparently coordinated raids, according to the Thai Army Commander-in-Chief, Chaisit Shinawatra.

The toll in the worst violence in over four months of unrest in southern Thailand included an estimated 32 rebels, who had taken refuge in a mosque outside the provincial town of Pattani, according to independent observers.

Contrary to the consequent speculation across South East Asia that the slain militants were either Muslim separatist-insurgents or terrorists with international links, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, described the clashes between the "armed assailants'' and the security forces as "an internal incident''. Expressing `regret' over this turn of events, he said the surge in violence was `controllable'. He referred to them as `criminals' who had sought to disrupt "law and order''.

He said the security forces' response was a "positive development'' that could help maintain law and order. He saw a link between the militant raids and an attack on an army camp on January 4. While the local television footage was replete with images of slain militants, some with jackets that contained the alphabets `JI', reports from the scene spoke of fierce clashes. The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is widely regarded as a regional affiliate of Al-Qaeda.The Thai Army Commander-in-Chief said that "many people who were behind the spate of violence in the southernmost provinces (had) fled the country and some were killed. Claiming that the "mastermind would be arrested'', Gen. Chaisit said the events marked "the last struggle to incite violence.''

Other top officials said that Thailand was in touch with the Malaysian authorities to try and secure the extradition of those militants who might have crossed over to northern Malaysia.

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