Thai clashes claim 93 lives

At least 93 people were killed when Thai police fought machete-wielding militants who launched simultaneous pre-dawn raids on security outposts today, in the heaviest fighting yet in the troubled Muslim-dominated south, officials said.

Police said they ended a standoff at a mosque by firing tear gas and killing nearly a dozen suspected Islamic fighters holed up inside, apparently bringing seven hours of bloodshed to a dramatic end.

In a highly coordinated attack, mostly teenage militants stormed more than 15 police bases, village defence posts and district offices in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces to try to steal weapons, said Proong Bunphandung, the chief of police for the south.

However, security forces – tipped in advance – were waiting for the poorly armed attackers, most of whom carried only machetes while some had guns, Proong said.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said 93 people, nearly all insurgents, were killed, but that the toll could rise to more than 100.

It was the bloodiest day in the south where almost daily attacks by gunmen have left nearly 160 people dead this year. The government has blamed Islamic separatists seeking to carve a homeland in the Muslim-majority south of this predominantly Buddhist country.

“Most of the dead insurgent are youths of ages ranging from 15 to 20, but two of the leaders are aged about 50 and 60,” Proong said, adding that four of the militants were taken alive. An Islamic leader said the attackers were apparently drug addicts.

Television news reports showed the bodies of insurgents lying in pools of blood, some of them in front of police stations clasping machetes and wearing camouflage.

Gunfire could be heard in the background as armoured personnel carriers drove down deserted village streets and commandos ran through the forest. Policemen and soldiers, carrying automatic rifles, ran across streets and ditches in crouched position.

Police dragged one man away, as an officer hit him on the head with a pistol butt.

Hours after the violence erupted, 11 armed fighters took over the Kruesie Mosque in Pattani town before they were flushed out and shot dead, said Pattani police chief Paithoon Pattanasoporn.

“We are now in control of the situation,” he said. It was not clear if the dead fighters were included in the death toll of 93 given by Thaksin.

Security was tightened along the border with neighbouring Malaysia, which has in the past denied allegations of harbouring militants.