Sarayuth Kotchawong said he received a report shortly before midnight that a suspect had entered a convenience store at a gas 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. “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. Pramote said the attackers Tuesday night “dressed up as women, using motorcycles and in many cases using petrol bombs, throwing them into the target sites.“ A wave of arson and bombing attacks overnight hit Thailand’s southernmost provinces, which for almost two decades have been the scene of an active Muslim separatist insurgency, officials said Wednesday. In other violence since then, two Thai army ordnance experts on duty were killed by a bomb later that month.Ī worker tries to cover the burnt down gas station in Pattani province, southern Thailand, Wednesday, Aug. The attacks are the most high-profile ones 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.

Heavy-handed crackdowns have fueled the discontent. Muslim residents have long charged they are treated like second-class citizens in Thailand, and separatist movements have been periodically active for decades. Attacks have also taken place in neighboring Songkhla province. 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. There have been no claims of responsibility. HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) - A wave of arson and bombing attacks overnight hit Thailand’s southernmost provinces, which for almost two decades have been the scene of an active Muslim separatist insurgency, officials said Wednesday.Īt least 17 attacks occurred Tuesday night in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala provinces, mostly at convenience stores and gas stations, military spokesperson Pramote Promin said.

Midnight wave beats1