Arson attacks in Deep South as Thailand prepares for general election
Insurgents set fire to cell phone towers and tyres across Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat on Thursday night, just two days before voting commences in the general election.
Several incidents were reported around 8.45pm. Provincial officials rushed to the scene and instructed relevant units to boost security and monitor potential incidents.
Officials reported that insurgents had shown up in the following areas:
Narathiwat: Mueang, Tak Bai and Rueso districts
Yala: Mueang and Than To districts
Pattani: Mueang, Yarang, Nong Chik and Saiburi districts
The insurgency is an ongoing conflict centred in Thailand’s deep south.
It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malay Patani Region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand and parts of a fourth, but has become more complex and increasingly violent since the early 2000s from drug cartels, oil smuggling networks, and sometimes pirate raids.
The former Sultanate of Pattani, which included the southern Thai provinces of Pattani (Patani), Yala (Jala), Narathiwat (Menara)—also known as the three Southern Border Provinces—as well as neighbouring parts of Songkhla Province (Singgora), and the northeastern part of Malaysia (Kelantan), was conquered by the Kingdom of Siam in 1785 and, with the exception of Kelantan, has been governed by Thailand ever since.
Political parties have repeatedly proposed ways to deal with the southern insurgency in a peaceful manner, such as by allowing residents to participate in peace talks, improving security operations and stimulating the economy in all three southern provinces.
