Thu, Apr 29, 2004 page1

• Dozens killed in Thai gun battles

  COORDINATED ATTACK Hundreds of young men took part in raids against security outposts, but Thai troops and police had been tipped off in advance

  • AP
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  Police gunned down scores of machete-wielding militants who stormed more than a dozen security outposts yesterday, the bloodiest day of fighting yet in Thailand's troubled Muslim-dominated south. The death toll stood at least 112.

  Only five security personnel were among the dead. The rest were insurgents, mostly teenagers.

  The eight hours of mayhem ended when police fired tear gas and rocket-propelled grenades into a mosque, killing 32 militants who witnesses said had been sheltering inside after running away from an earlier battle.

  

  Security personnel stand near dead bodies in Thailand's largely Muslim province of Pattani, 1,150km south of Bangkok, yesterday. Troops and police killed more than 100 gun and machete-wielding Muslim youths yesterday, including more than 30 in a three-hour mosque shootout.

  PHOTO: REUTERS

  Television news reports showed the bodies of suspected Islamic fighters lying in pools of blood, some of them in front of police stations clasping machetes and wearing colored shirts and camouflage pants.

  Gunfire echoed as armored personnel carriers cruised deserted village streets and commandos moved through the forest. Policemen and soldiers carrying automatic rifles crouched as they ran across roads and ditches.

  No group claimed responsibility for the highly coordinated assault by possibly hundreds of young militants, although past violence has been blamed on separatists seeking to carve a homeland in the Muslim-majority south of this predominantly Buddhist country.

  The death count was dramatically lopsided.

  Army chief General Chaiyasith Shinawatra told reporters that 107 insurgent were killed and 17 were arrested. He said three policemen and two soldiers were also killed while 15 policemen were wounded.

  Soldiers and police -- tipped off in advance -- were waiting for the poorly armed assailants. Some had guns but most carried only machetes, said Lieutenant General Proong Bunphandung, the chief of police for the south.

  "The security officers have been patiently working with local people and gathering intelligence. We waited for the right time to achieve this success," he said.

  Many parts of the region have been under martial law for months. Security was tightened yesterday along the border with Malaysia, which has in the past denied allegations of harboring militants.

  The violence erupted at 5am when the insurgents attacked more than 15 police bases, village defense posts and district offices in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces in a bid to steal weapons.

  It was the worst bloodshed seen in the south where almost daily attacks by gunmen have left nearly 160 people dead this year, including yesterday's toll.

  "Most of the dead insurgents 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.

  Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the raids were linked to a Jan. 4 attack on a military camp in nearby Narathiwat province, which triggered an upsurge of violence in the area this year. Four soldiers were killed and hundreds of guns stolen in that raid.

  However, Thaksin denied the attackers had connections to international terrorists.

  "Most of the insurgents are youths from the southern provinces," Thaksin said. "Their acts are not linked with international terrorists."

  He said the attackers intended "to rob guns from defense volunteers and district offices, but our troops were well prepared for that."

  "They arrived at the target point with brand new motorcycles. This proves they got financial support from influential figures, including politicians and drug gangsters," he said.
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