A wave of arson and bombing attacks has hit Thailand’s southernmost provinces, which for almost two decades have been the scene of an active Muslim separatist insurgency, officials said on Wednesday.
At least 17 attacks took place Tuesday night in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala provinces, mostly at convenience stores and petrol stations, military spokesman Pramote Promin said.
Three civilians were reported to have been injured. There have been no claims of responsibility.
More than 7,300 people have been killed since the insurgency began in 2004 in the three provinces, the only ones with Muslim majorities in Buddhist-dominated Thailand.
Attacks have also taken place in neighbouring Songkhla province.
Muslim residents have long said they are treated like second-class citizens in Thailand, and separatist movements have been periodically active for decades.
Heavy-handed crackdowns have fuelled the discontent.
The attacks are the most high-profile since early April, when the Thai government and BRN – Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani, believed to be the biggest of several insurgent groups – agreed to halt violence during the Muslim holy period of Ramadan.
In other violence since then, two Thai army ordnance experts on duty were killed by a bomb later that month.
Mr Pramote said the attackers on Tuesday night “dressed up as women, using motorcycles and in many cases using petrol bombs, throwing them into the target sites”.
“It is clear that the insurgents remain committed to using violence on people, damaging confidence in the economy, creating uncertainty and undermining the government system,” he said.
Police captain Sarayuth Kotchawong said he received a report shortly before midnight that someone had entered a convenience store at a petrol station in Yala’s Yaha district, placed a black bag inside and warned employees to leave if they “do not want die”.
The workers left before the bag exploded 10 minutes later.
The various southern insurgent groups have not issued a consensus demand.
They are a shadowy mix of veteran separatists and often loosely led groups of violent young militants. Their goals range from greater autonomy to independence, with little indication they are related to jihadist movements in other south-east Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines.
