Thailand Imposes Martial Law in Narathiwat After Rebel Attack Kills Five

Thai authorities have imposed martial law in Narathiwat Province in southern Thailand following an attack by armed rebel groups on a security post that killed five paramilitary personnel, according to a report by Thai PBS World.

The order was issued on Thursday by the special forces commander in Narathiwat, Major General Yod-Arwut Phuengpak, in response to the attack on a security post in the Ra-ngae area on Wednesday (22 January), which also wounded six civilians.

Under the order, security forces are authorised to set up road checkpoints, search vehicles and houses suspected of being connected to rebel activities, and detain individuals suspected of involvement.

Military personnel are also authorised to use force when necessary and proportionate to the threat they face.

The local military will be responsible for maintaining peace and public order in Narathiwat Province, while civilian state apparatus and local government security officials will work under military command.

Four provinces in southern Thailand, including Narathiwat, have large Malay Muslim populations and were historically part of the Patani kingdom.

The insurgency in the region is rooted in ethnic and cultural conflict between Malay Muslims living in southern Thailand and the central Thai government, where Buddhism is the de facto national religion.

Armed rebel groups first emerged in the 1960s after Thailand’s military dictatorship at the time attempted to intervene in Islamic schools, but the movement subsided in the 1990s.

Then, in 2004, a new armed movement was born, uniting several rebel groups into an organisation called the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN).

The conflict in southern Thailand is one of the deadliest low-intensity insurgencies in the world.

Source: Anadolu