Thailand to build 'peace zone'

Thailand to build 'peace zone'

THAILAND: Thailand's government plans to set up "peace zones" in southern provinces to curb mounting unrest that has been linked to Islamic separatists, a minister said on Monday.

The deadly violence in the majority-Muslim region of mainly Buddhist Thailand has flared again in recent weeks despite efforts to stem the attacks on security forces, government officials, civil servants and civilians.

"We will announce a peace zone, an area that should not have much violence so that people can feel comfortable," Defense Minister Thammarak Issarangkura Na Ayutthaya told reporters.

"We hope to start by August, and Betong district will be a pilot peace district," he said. He did not provide details of how the zones would be implemented.

Betong is the southernmost tip of Thailand, in Yala province which along with Narathiwat and Pattani provinces has borne the brunt of the violence.

Thailand's deep south along the Malaysian border has been roiled by an Islamic separatist insurgency that has left more than 710 people dead since a bloody attack on an army weapons depot in January 2004. -- AFP