Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Brutal insurgency haunts Thai Muslim south
Fri Jul 3, 2009 3:15am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Martin Petty
YALA, Thailand (Reuters) - When he heard the loud cracks of gunfire, Prapan Pormapat knew the insurgents had just claimed another victim.
An engine roared as two gunmen sped away on a motorcycle, leaving behind the body of a saffron-robed Buddhist monk in a pool of blood.
"Everyone here carries a gun now," said Prapan, a Buddhist tailor, recounting the chilling tale of when a shadowy five-year rebellion first struck in this sleepy neighborhood of Yala in southern Thailand.
"I rarely go out. I'm too scared to travel anywhere. We don't know who is behind this violence, or what they want," he said.
Thailand's Muslim deep south has become the battleground of one of the world's most mysterious conflicts, a brutal insurgency that has claimed nearly 3,500 lives since 2004.
A climate of fear and intimidation has gripped the provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, and the 30,000 troops here offer little protection against the near-daily bombings and shootings.
The soldiers sent to crush the insurgency have no idea who they are fighting.
"We don't know where the attacks will come from," said Daeng, an army colonel, nervously huddled behind a wall of barbed wire and sandbags at a checkpoint outside a Muslim village.
"We don't know if these people live in this village, or if they've come here to kill us."
With its rolling hills and thick jungle dotted with white village mosques, the rubber-rich region bordering Malaysia is one of Thailand's most picturesque, but the unrelenting violence has ensured tourists and investors keep well away.
INVESTORS SCARED
Attacks on plantation workers have slashed the local rubber output, and would-be investors have declined government offers of soft loans and tax breaks for fear of being targeted.
"The only businesses making any money here are the ones selling guns," said Wirach Assawasuksant, president of Yala's chamber of commerce. He carries a gun himself.
"There's no new investment, insurance premiums are too high. All the businesses are suffering," he added, with a shrug.
At dusk, a provincial capital once abuzz with shoppers and packed restaurants now resembles a ghost town after a slew of drive-by shootings and motorcycle bombings, carried out just a mile away from an army base housing several thousand troops. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Iran hardliners urge legal action against Mousavi
Also On Reuters
Commentary: Miles O'Brien and why planes crash
Judge tentatively dismisses conviction in MySpace case
Blog: Citizen journalism, mainstream media and Iran
More International News
Honduras to meet OAS but tells Zelaya "don't come"
| Video
U.N.'s Ban to urge Myanmar leader to free prisoners
U.S. Marines launch key operation in south Afghanistan
Doomed Air France plane hit sea intact: investigators
North Korea may fire more missiles: report
More International News...
Related News
Q+A: What is behind Thailand's mysterious insurgency?
3:15am EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Air New Zealand staff bare all to get flyers' attention
Hope for California budget deal as IOUs planned
North Korea fires fourth short-range missile: report
UPDATE 1-Arianespace launches "largest commercial satellite"
CORRECTED - UPDATE 4-U.S. regulators close seven banks
UPDATE 1-South Carolina gov. cleared on use of state funds
U.S. regulators close seven banks
Investors turn to stock picking after massive rally
New flu may not spread like regular flu -studies
Millionaires' springtime optimism wilts: survey
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Micahel Jackson's last video
Jackson rehearsal video released
After the withdrawal in Iraq
Operation Strike of the Sword
California's state of emergency
Jackson's brother
Obama warns of more job losses
Vanishing jobs
No Jackson funeral at Neverland
Dutch banks still investing in arms?
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.