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BANGKOK The Thai authorities said Thursday that they had arrested four Islamic teachers accused of masterminding "terrorism" in the kingdom's violence-racked south.
The four, detained in sweeps Tuesday and Wednesday in the south, were charged with treason and terrorism which carry the death penalty, the Southern Border Provinces Peace-Building Command said.
The head of the command, General Sirichai Tanyasiri, said that the four, all of whom taught at private Islamic schools in Yala Province, would be flown to Bangkok on Friday to appear before a criminal court.
"These suspects are key mastermind figures, especially Waeyuso Waedoramae, who ordered the theft of government firearms and the attacking of government officials as well as innocent civilians," the command said in a statement from Yala.
Witnesses also confirmed that Waeyuso was the man who ordered arson attacks on 36 government schools in 1993, it added.
A fifth suspect, identified as the headmaster of an Islamic school, escaped the sweeps but a warrant was issued for his arrest.
More than 560 people have been killed this year in the Muslim-dominated south of the mainly Buddhist country.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the detainees were linked to a "separatist organization," believed to be part of an extensive network of insurgents and ringleaders.
We have clear evidence which will explain the overall picture," he said.
Asked whether there would be more arrests, Thaksin said that the authorities were closing in on "about 100 core members" of the insurgency but killings were likely to continue until those arrests were made.
In addition to Waeyuso, Abdulroseh Haji Doroh is being held on suspicion controlling money sent from overseas to finance operations, General Sirichai Thunyasiri said in a news conference in Pattani Province in the south.
Sirichai identified the other two as Ahama Bula and Mohammed Kanafi Doroh, but he did not specify their roles.
The fifth person suspected of leading what has increasingly taken on the appearance of an insurgency fled before a raid on his house, Sirichai said. The suspect, Sapaeing Bazo, was the principal of a private Islamic school in Yala Province.