Posted on 04/28/2004 1:48:25 PM PDT by ambrose
MUSLIM MILITANTS: Rebels expected to mount more attacks
Published on Apr 29, 2004
Clashes organised by Sarigat, a splinter group of BRN, officials say; 'hundreds still at large'
The situation in the South remains tense and fragile as young Muslims are expected to regroup and launch a new round of attacks, most likely in Narathiwat, the national intelligence chief said yesterday.
"Security said authorities are concerned that young militants will regroup and cause more disturbances," said Lt-General Chumpol Manmai, head of the National Intelligence Agency.
Although some 107 Muslim teens were killed yesterday in a spate of clashes in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla, their surviving cohorts might seek revenge rather than learn a lesson, Chumpol said.
The clashes with security forces are suspected to have been organised by a separatist group known as Sarigat, a splinter of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN). Sarigat leaders have recruited Muslim teens in the three southernmost provinces and arranged for combat training in remote jungle areas near the border with Malaysia.
Chumpol said the next seven days were crucial for the young militants to mount attacks. He warned that some 150 militants were involved in yesterday's clashes, but many hundreds more remain at large.
Security authorities in the South continue to be on high alert. Army commander-in-chief General Chaisit Shinawatra said the military was closely monitoring the situation at Pattani's Tung Yang Daeng district, where Muslim teens were congregating in unusually large numbers.
Commenting on the worst violence yet in the South, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the situation was under control.
"The clashes lasted several hours because certain perpetrators stole M-16 rifles and M-79 grenades before fleeing to a deserted mosque. It was a lengthy process to smoke them out," he said, referring to the bloody raid on Krue Se Mosque in Pattani.
Thaksin pledged to observe the rule of law in bringing culprits to justice. "Investigators will try to identify perpetrators and their masterminds. Some perpetrators might have fled to Malaysia but the masterminds are likely to remain in the country," he said.
The government is on the right track in trying to unmask the masterminds, he said, voicing regret that the violence had led to Thais killing Thais.
The premier said the Muslim militants had raided government installations to steal weapons before selling them abroad.
Thaksin also said the escalating violence was the aftermath of the government's war on drugs, and that ill-intentioned people had hired drug addicts to create disturbances with the hope of reviving the illegal narcotics trade.
With regard to yesterday's high death toll among machete-armed militants, he said security forces had not overreacted. "This is Thailand. We Thais should put our nation before everything else. Security officials acted in self-defence and no one should view the perpetrators as the good guys," he said.
Defence Minister General Chettha Thanajaro spoke of the military's continuing state of vigilance concerning the situation in the South. "Perpetrators have been overconfident since their January raid on an Army camp in Narathiwat. They had been well trained and aspired to increasingly violent attacks. Their deaths [yesterday] were regrettable, but the military had no choice," he said. Chettha said the young militants had been organised in a movement which is being exploited by many interest groups for their own gain. Meanwhile, provincial police have stepped up security measures at airports, public places and border crossings throughout the southern region as a precaution.
Immigration officials have been instructed to carefully monitor a blacklist of terrorist suspects, and southern residents have been urged to cooperate in reporting any suspicious activities or visitors.
Train and bus services to and from the southern region still operate on a normal basis, although security at passenger terminals has been beefed up.
Piyanart Srivalo
Panya Thiewsangwal
THE NATION
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