allesennogwat
05-09-2007, 03:10 PM
AFP-Wednesday May 9
Seven soldiers were killed Wednesday in a bomb attack by separatist insurgents in Thailand's restive south, military and police said.
The soldiers were returning from a training session in an army pick-up truck when insurgents remotely detonated a 20-kilogramme (45-pound) roadside bomb near a school in Narathiwat province.
The military report into the incident said that insurgents opened fire after the bomb exploded to ensure all the troops were dead, before snatching the soldiers' M16 rifles.
Police in the area said the militants had scattered spikes on the road to prevent rescue workers from reaching the scene of the blast, which left a two-metre (six-foot) wide crater.
The soldiers were part of a military programme that was supposed to work to improve relations with residents of the region, police added.
Earlier Wednesday, a 39-year-old Muslim villager was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yala province, police said, while in nearby Pattani a 51-year-old Buddhist hospital worker was shot dead in a similar attack.
On Tuesday afternoon, police found the bodies of a Muslim couple in their mid-30s in their house in Yala province. They had died from bullet wounds.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont announced Wednesday that he would lead a delegation of ministers to the Muslim-majority south this weekend in the latest bid to quell escalating unrest.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in separatist violence in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since January 2004, and violence is growing despite peace-building moves by the government.
Surayud will head to the area on Sunday for a one-day visit with his two deputy prime ministers and seven cabinet ministers.
He said he wanted to give cabinet members first-hand experience of the unrest in the region bordering Malaysia, where they will meet military and civilian officials in Pattani and Yala.
Surayud insisted that his government would not bow to the demands of hundreds of protesters, who are currently blocking a regional highway in Yala to demand that authorities free 24 suspected insurgents.
About 400 Muslim women and children are blocking two points on the road, prompting a counter-protest by about 200 Buddhists, who want the Muslims to lift the blockade, which they say is causing a shortage of goods and fuel.
"We are adhering to the rule of law.... We cannot release (the suspects) under pressure," Surayud told reporters. "We will negotiate with those who want to negotiate, but not with those who break the law."
Seven soldiers were killed Wednesday in a bomb attack by separatist insurgents in Thailand's restive south, military and police said.
The soldiers were returning from a training session in an army pick-up truck when insurgents remotely detonated a 20-kilogramme (45-pound) roadside bomb near a school in Narathiwat province.
The military report into the incident said that insurgents opened fire after the bomb exploded to ensure all the troops were dead, before snatching the soldiers' M16 rifles.
Police in the area said the militants had scattered spikes on the road to prevent rescue workers from reaching the scene of the blast, which left a two-metre (six-foot) wide crater.
The soldiers were part of a military programme that was supposed to work to improve relations with residents of the region, police added.
Earlier Wednesday, a 39-year-old Muslim villager was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yala province, police said, while in nearby Pattani a 51-year-old Buddhist hospital worker was shot dead in a similar attack.
On Tuesday afternoon, police found the bodies of a Muslim couple in their mid-30s in their house in Yala province. They had died from bullet wounds.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont announced Wednesday that he would lead a delegation of ministers to the Muslim-majority south this weekend in the latest bid to quell escalating unrest.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in separatist violence in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since January 2004, and violence is growing despite peace-building moves by the government.
Surayud will head to the area on Sunday for a one-day visit with his two deputy prime ministers and seven cabinet ministers.
He said he wanted to give cabinet members first-hand experience of the unrest in the region bordering Malaysia, where they will meet military and civilian officials in Pattani and Yala.
Surayud insisted that his government would not bow to the demands of hundreds of protesters, who are currently blocking a regional highway in Yala to demand that authorities free 24 suspected insurgents.
About 400 Muslim women and children are blocking two points on the road, prompting a counter-protest by about 200 Buddhists, who want the Muslims to lift the blockade, which they say is causing a shortage of goods and fuel.
"We are adhering to the rule of law.... We cannot release (the suspects) under pressure," Surayud told reporters. "We will negotiate with those who want to negotiate, but not with those who break the law."