Nearly 100 people have been killed in fierce fighting in the southern, mainly Muslim provinces of Thailand.
Suspected militants are reported to have attacked more than 15 separate police outposts in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces, seemingly in an effort to rob the stations of weapons. But police officers shot and killed at least 93 of the attackers, with three policemen and one soldier being killed as well.
According to the online news provider Ananova, the Thai government is blaming Islamic separatists who are trying to force the creation of a Muslim homeland in what is mainly a Buddhist country.
The governor of Yala province is reported as saying: “In Yala alone the insurgents attacked six targets and at least 45 of them were killed. Maybe the insurgents underestimated the preparedness of the security forces. They used machetes to rob guns and when we fought back they suffered big losses.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
