THAI MUSLIM FIGHTERS SPARING CIVILIANS

Army Chief General of Thailand Sonthi Boonyaratglin said that Thai Muslim fighters in the south have changed tactics now by limiting their operations to security and army forces while sparing Muslim and Buddhist civilians. Sonthi was referring to last week’s visit to Thailand by Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin…

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June 16, 2022

Army Chief General of Thailand Sonthi Boonyaratglin said that Thai Muslim fighters in the south have changed tactics now by limiting their operations to security and army forces while sparing Muslim and Buddhist civilians. Sonthi was referring to last week’s visit to Thailand by Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Ihsanoglu paid his first visit to the southeast Asian country and held talks with Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, Sonthi, and local Muslim leaders including Yala Islamic University rector Ismail Lutfi Japakiya.
The OIC chief condemned indiscriminate operations that target civilians in the troubled south. More than 2,100 people have died in violence in the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since January 2004.
The three provinces were an independent Muslim sultanate until annexed a century ago by the Thai army. Ihsanoglu also denounced years of government marginalisation and heavy-handedness  against the country’s Muslim minority. He blamed the former toppled government for the deaths of many Muslims. Thai Muslims, who make up five percent of the predominantly Buddhist kingdom’s population, have long complained of discrimination in jobs and education.