450 died in southern Thai: Police

450 died in southern Thai: Police

THAILAND: Muslim separatists in southern Thailand have adopted
the same tactics as insurgents in Iraq and Indonesia, and their
violence has caused 450 deaths so far this year, police said on
Wednesday.

The casualties from the insurgency this year up to Oct. 24 in
Thailand's southernmost, Muslim-majority provinces include 38
police officers, 19 soldiers and 393 civil servants or civilians
killed, and more than 1,000 people injured, police Lt. Gen.
Achirawit Suphanaphesat, spokesman for National Police Bureau,
said at a news conference.

"The insurgents have been using the same tactics of attack
that the terrorists do in Iraq and Indonesia, which results in a
large loss of life among innocent people," he said.

He did not elaborate.

A largely dormant Muslim separatist movement in Yala, Pattani
and Narathiwat provinces exploded into violence in January last
year, and has been responsible for almost daily killings since
then.

Last year, 668 people were killed in sectarian violence in the
south, and police said they expect the total to be higher this
year. A total of 1,118 lives have been lost since the violence
flared last year. -- AP