Suspected insurgents attack soldiers at Narathiwat checkpoint

[webfact]

Suspected Insurgents Attack Soldiers at Narathiwat Checkpoint
By Khaosod English

NARATHIWAT — A group of gunmen attacked a military checkpoint in the southern border-province of Narathiwat last night, Thai police say.

According to police, the militants began shooting at soldiers who were manning the checkpoint during a heavy rainstorm in Sugai Kolok district at around 10 pm last night.

The soldiers reportedly shot back at the suspected insurgents, who eventually retreated. No injuries have been reported.

The militants left behind one homemade explosive, which soldiers disposed of this morning, said Pol.Col. Kong-at Suwannakham, superintendent of Sugai Kolok Police Station.

Police suspect the gunmen were members of a separatist movement that has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani - a region known as the Deep South. The insurgents are seeking to revive the Islamic state of Patani, which was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1432541173


-- Khaosod English 2015-05-25

[rametindallas]

I think you can safely take the word 'suspected' out of the headline and body of the story. Once you have a group of gunmen attacking soldiers at a checkpoint you can feel free to call them insurgents. Trust me.

p.s. these soldiers need to go back to the shooting range if they couldn't at least injure any of the 'suspected' insurgents.

[Robby nz]

I think you can safely take the word 'suspected' out of the headline and body of the story. Once you have a group of gunmen attacking soldiers at a checkpoint you can feel free to call them insurgents. Trust me.

p.s. these soldiers need to go back to the shooting range if they couldn't at least injure any of the 'suspected' insurgents.

Much easier to shoot at a lit check point at night during heavy rain than it is to retaliate to single targets in the dark which are no doubt in cover.

All the soldiers would have been able to see would have been muzzle flash and the position of that would have been distorted by the rain. They would have also been wanting to keep their heads down somewhat to avoid incoming.

PS. Try terrorists rather than insurgents.

[DonaldBattles]

The Sultanate of Pattani was stolen by Bangkok. Until there is some political arrangement then there will never be peace. Money from the middle east will continue to pour in as it does other insurgent areas. Including the muslim war in Thailand there are a total of 7 going on in the world. The south of Thailand was reasonable peaceful until Taksin decided to slaughter a lot of people in Tak Bai. With the Buddhist Government attitude there can never be peace in the muslims in the south. Now is a good time to try to understand what they want other than their stolen land back.

[jinjin]

Maybe Thailand should follow suit in Malaysia multi ethnic program. First do a racial cleansing of non "Bumi-Putras" meaning culling of other ethnic other than malays.

[billd766]

The Sultanate of Pattani was stolen by Bangkok. Until there is some political arrangement then there will never be peace. Money from the middle east will continue to pour in as it does other insurgent areas. Including the muslim war in Thailand there are a total of 7 going on in the world. The south of Thailand was reasonable peaceful until Taksin decided to slaughter a lot of people in Tak Bai. With the Buddhist Government attitude there can never be peace in the muslims in the south. Now is a good time to try to understand what they want other than their stolen land back.

I do understand that Wikipedia is not always the best reference but here are two separate Wikipedia sites that refute your claim that Pattani was stolen by Bangkok.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattani_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patani_%28region%29

Not Wikipedia

http://georgetownstreet.blogspot.com/2010/02/pattani-kingdom.html

What references and links are you using to justify what you have said?

[DonaldBattles]

They want their land back. The King gave Kelatan to Malaysia. Why did the Sultanate of Patini lose all of it's land to the Thai King. Until there is some political settlement the slaughter will go on. After 6,000 killed since 2004 you would think that it is important to try to settle the issues.

Following info is from Wiki also.

The former Sultanate of Patani, which comprised the southern Thai provinces of Pattani(Patani), Yala (Jala),Narathiwat (Menara)—also known as the three Southern Border Provinces (SBP)^[8]—as well as neighbouring parts of Songkhla Province (Singgora), and the northeastern part of Malaysia(Kelantan), was conquered by the Kingdom of Siam in 1785 and, except for Kelantan, the area has been governed by Thailand ever since.

[billd766]

They want their land back. The King gave Kelatan to Malaysia. Why did the Sultanate of Patini lose all of it's land to the Thai King. Until there is some political settlement the slaughter will go on. After 6,000 killed since 2004 you would think that it is important to try to settle the issues.

Following info is from Wiki also.

The former Sultanate of Patani, which comprised the southern Thai provinces of Pattani(Patani), Yala (Jala),Narathiwat (Menara)—also known as the three Southern Border Provinces (SBP)^[8]—as well as neighbouring parts of Songkhla Province (Singgora), and the northeastern part of Malaysia(Kelantan), was conquered by the Kingdom of Siam in 1785 and, except for Kelantan, the area has been governed by Thailand ever since.

Please don't shout. I may be old but I am not that deaf.

If you want to go down that route which is pointless anyway how much of Thailand would then belong to Burma as it was conquered during the Burmese Siamese war from 1547 to 1549.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese%E2%80%93Siamese_War_%281547%E2%80%9349%29

Would you also say that historically because the UK was conquered by the Romans over 2,000 years agi the UK shold belong to Italy or that India still belongs to the UK because we conquered it, or that Indonesia still belongs to Holland and most of Africa belongs to those countries who conquered it? Should the USA belong to the UK and Canada to France?

All that is history. Come to the present century and tell us what historical claims have to do with the present conflict. In the southern provinces the majority of the people living there both Buddhist and Moslem get on well together for a couple of hundred years or so. Why has it blown up in the last 4 or 5 decades.

For the sake of a discussion just assume that Thailand grants the area what it wants. Do you even know what they want and is what the minority of Moslems want the same as the majoirty of Moslems in the region want.

Do you think that the killing wil stop overnight, that the MURDERERS which is what they are will just give up their weapons and live in peace and harmony forever?

What will happen to the Thai people whose home it has been for hundreds of years? Will they have everything stolen from them and be kicked out of their own country? Will they have to live under Sharia law? Will they have any rights under the new "state"? Will Buddhist women be forced to wear the burka? Will be Buddhists be forced to convert to Islam and be killed if they don't?

Edited May 27, 2015 by billd766