2 Thai Buddhist monks and 2 Thai police officer have been killed in Muslim-majority South Thailand in attacks believed to be linked to separatist unrest in the region, the government and police in Thailand said today.
The 2 monks were killed while they were doing their early morning round to receive alms and food at about 6:00 am in the morning. In a separate but simultaneous attack, a policeman from the Yala police station in Thailand was also killed.
Another policeman was shot dead at Kapho district in neighboring Pattani province in Thailand at 9:30 pm on Friday, the Kapho district police commander Colonel Sombat Wangdee confirmed.
Thailand's southern Muslim dominated provinces have been rocked by a series of attacks and violence on Thai government targets earlier this month which left six people dead. Thursday a Buddhist monk was slashed to death in an brutal attack and Thai police said they feared the murdering of Monks could be linked to the separatist unrest in this region of Thailand.
Normally violence against Thai Buddhists Monks in the Muslim South of Thailand is extremely rare, and the recent unrest was aimed towards the Thai government, rather than against Buddhist religious targets. Thailand blames various bandits, separatists and "Mujahedin" for the recent outburst of violence.
A policeman from Yala province in Thailand said both recent murder attacks involved two assailants on motorcycles who used huge knives to slash the Monks, one in the back of the head and the other in the neck. The third Monk was stabbed in the back. No arrests have been made so far, police said.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand blamed the latest attacks on separatists trying to provoke a religious conflict.
"These were continuing attacks by a group of people who are trying to create a war between Thai Buddhists and Thai Muslims," Premier Thaksin said during his weekly radio address prior to the confirmation of the deaths.
"The Thai public must remain patient and not be swayed by the some 200 separatists who are trying to win support from the public. Thailand's soil cannot be divided in a Buddhist part and a Muslim part," Premier Thaksin added.
Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh admitted that the situation in Thailand's 3-Southernmost provinces had reached a crisis. "This is an extraordinary situation and these provinces in Thailand are in crisis as these latest incidents are trying to create more conflict between Thai people," Chavalit told reporters in Kanchanaburi where Thailand's cabinet is meeting on retreat He said he would be traveling to the Muslim South of Thailand after the Saturday meeting.
