Saturday, authorities said that three persons were killed in a jungle shootout between government forces and separatist rebels in Thailand’s volatile deep south.
Since 2004, more than 7,000 people have been killed in the country’s southernmost regions as rebels in the Muslim-majority region fight for more autonomy from the state.
According to police, Thai police and soldiers climbed a mountain in Narathiwat province on Friday, where they discovered an armed separatist gang that opened fire.
“They began shooting at us, so we were forced to retaliate, resulting in the deaths of three individuals,” local police commander Suthon Sukwiset said AFP, adding that they were all Thai Muslims.
We discovered three M16 rifles in their possession and seized them.
During the at least five-hour operation, no police officers or soldiers were killed or injured.
Thailand’s extreme south, which is highly policed, is culturally distinct from the rest of the Buddhist-majority nation, which colonized the region bordering Malaysia over a century ago.
The Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional rebel group held their first face-to-face peace discussions in around two years in Kuala Lumpur last year, but no progress was made.
»Three people were slain in a shootout in Thailand’s volatile southern region«