Thailand's army chief said Wednesday he is ready to negotiate a peace deal with leaders of a murky insurgency in the country's restive south. "The military is stressing the need to negotiate a peaceful solution rather than one by force," Army Chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin told a group of nearly three dozen Thai editors and columnists. "We have the names of the leaders of the movement in hand and are working to confirm their identity before approaching them." Sonthi did not say when or where peace talks would be held.
Sonthi said he met recently with leaders of the separatist Pattani United Liberation Organization in an unidentified country and they told him they were not taking part in the insurgency. Instead, Sonthi blamed Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolution Front for much of the violence in the south. He also estimated that there about 5,000 militants operating in the country's three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, most of whom are part of the BRN.
Meanwhile:
Insurgents opened fire into a villager's home in Yala province before setting it on fire on Wednesday night, police said Thursday.
Paisarn Maka, a rubber tapper, said he was sleeping with family members when an unknown number of insurgents fired into the house in Bannang Sata district. They then doused the door with petrol and set it ablaze. No one was hurt in the twin attack. Mr Paisarn did not dare to report to police until the morning because he was afraid of further attacks. |