Violence Closes Thailand Schools, Temples

[george]

Violence Closes Thailand Schools, Temples

BANGKOK - More than 1,000 schools closed and some monks evacuated their temples as tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in southern Thailand heightened, officials and media reports said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said local leaders from the Muslim-dominated south told him some groups behind the violence received foreign funds. He did not elaborate.

Public schools will remain closed this week while government officials discuss security measures for teachers, who are receiving death threats.

The recent violence includes the killings of three Buddhist monks by young men with machetes and the fatal shootings of three policemen.

Attacks have increased in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces since the Jan. 4 torching of 20 schools and raid on a military armory that left four soldiers dead. The government blames militant Muslim separatists possibly linked to al-Qaida and other terror groups.

The Nation newspaper said some Buddhist monks in Narathiwat evacuated their temples for safer places outside the region.

Thailand is predominantly Buddhist except for its southernmost provinces, which are mostly Muslim.

--Agencies 2004-01-29