SunWuKong
01-04-2004, 02:18 AM
Armed raids in southern Thailand
Four soldiers have been killed and 19 schools burned down in a series of attacks in predominantly Muslim southern Thailand, police say.
They say four guards died when some 30 armed men attacked an army depot in Narathiwat province early on Sunday.
No injuries were reported in the school burnings - both in Narathiwat and in neighbouring Yala province.
Thailand's Muslim southern provinces have been hit by low-level violence in recent years.
Security agencies have blamed previous attacks on former separatist rebels turned bandits.
An army spokesman said a cache of weapons was stolen in the raid on the army base.
Mosquito coils
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cut short a holiday in order to consult with security officials following the attacks, government officials said.
Most schools were set on fire by mosquito coils put on petrol-soaked sacks, a local radio station reported.
Some of the fires were raging several hours after the attacks.
Fire engines were allegedly prevented from getting near to the infernos by nails placed in the ground next to the schools.
There has been sporadic violence in the five southernmost provinces - Songkhla, Satun, Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani - which has been attributed to Muslim separatists.
It is unclear who is behind the most recent attacks.
But security officials say most of the separatists in the area are now bandits who run rackets along the Thai-Malaysian border.
================================================
what the hell is the point in burning down 19 schools? couldn't they find some other buildings to burn down?
Four soldiers have been killed and 19 schools burned down in a series of attacks in predominantly Muslim southern Thailand, police say.
They say four guards died when some 30 armed men attacked an army depot in Narathiwat province early on Sunday.
No injuries were reported in the school burnings - both in Narathiwat and in neighbouring Yala province.
Thailand's Muslim southern provinces have been hit by low-level violence in recent years.
Security agencies have blamed previous attacks on former separatist rebels turned bandits.
An army spokesman said a cache of weapons was stolen in the raid on the army base.
Mosquito coils
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cut short a holiday in order to consult with security officials following the attacks, government officials said.
Most schools were set on fire by mosquito coils put on petrol-soaked sacks, a local radio station reported.
Some of the fires were raging several hours after the attacks.
Fire engines were allegedly prevented from getting near to the infernos by nails placed in the ground next to the schools.
There has been sporadic violence in the five southernmost provinces - Songkhla, Satun, Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani - which has been attributed to Muslim separatists.
It is unclear who is behind the most recent attacks.
But security officials say most of the separatists in the area are now bandits who run rackets along the Thai-Malaysian border.
================================================
what the hell is the point in burning down 19 schools? couldn't they find some other buildings to burn down?