Thailand: Islamic Terrorism Goes Sporadic

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November 13, 2012: For the first time in twenty years the prime minister has taken control of national security, especially policy in the Moslem south. The government believes that most of the rebellious factions in the south now want peace. Over 5,000 people have died in eight years of violence down there and the Islamic terrorists have lost the support of the Moslems in the south. So far this year over a hundred of the terrorists have surrendered and accepted an amnesty deal. Violence in the south has become more sporadic and less of a constant threat. Moreover, a growing amount of the “Islamic terrorism” is seen as gang related.

November 4, 2012: Soldiers clashed with Cambodians illegally logging on the Thai side of the border, killing three of the loggers while three others fled across the border.

In the northwest, 400 kilometers from the capital, troops stopped a pickup truck with no license plates and found several rifles and machine-guns and over 100,000 rounds of ammo. The driver was a Karen tribesman from Myanmar and the weapons were apparently intended for a Karen militia operating on the border. The Karen have been fighting the Myanmar government for decades. Refugees from Myanmar constantly flee across the border, joining over 100,000 already in Thailand. Nearly all are from Karen tribes, which have been losing their 60 year old rebellion since the 1990s, when many Karen tribes surrendered to the government. Refugees will often go back into Myanmar when things seem to settle down.

November 3, 2012: In the south three incidents saw Islamic terrorists killing five people.

October 31, 2012: In the south several incidents of Islamic terrorist violence left six dead.