Thailand to declare kill zones as violence rages in Muslim south
by Anusak Kongklang
Thailand plans to declare "violent" zones in Muslim southern provinces where security forces will seek to hunt down and kill Islamic insurgents blamed for a surge of deadly attacks, the defense minister said Thursday.
"At the moment, the violence is escalating more and more. They are killing indiscriminately, and the situation will continue until those militants are killed," Gen Thammarak Issarangkura Na Ayutthaya said.
Each district in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces will be declared either "violent" or "peaceful", he told reporters after a special national security meeting to address the mounting bloodshed.
"We will have to fight them in the violent zones," he warned, without specifying which areas would fall in the military's crosshairs.
The minister said a spate of beheadings this month -- including a man decapitated in broad daylight wednesday at a roadside teashop in Narathiwat province -- was not necessarily the works of insurgents.
by Anusak Kongklang
Thailand plans to declare "violent" zones in Muslim southern provinces where security forces will seek to hunt down and kill Islamic insurgents blamed for a surge of deadly attacks, the defense minister said Thursday.
"At the moment, the violence is escalating more and more. They are killing indiscriminately, and the situation will continue until those militants are killed," Gen Thammarak Issarangkura Na Ayutthaya said.
Each district in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces will be declared either "violent" or "peaceful", he told reporters after a special national security meeting to address the mounting bloodshed.
"We will have to fight them in the violent zones," he warned, without specifying which areas would fall in the military's crosshairs.
The minister said a spate of beheadings this month -- including a man decapitated in broad daylight wednesday at a roadside teashop in Narathiwat province -- was not necessarily the works of insurgents.
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