NARATHIWAT, Thailand (Reuters) - Unknown gunmen shot dead two Buddhist monks and injured two others in an attack at a temple in Thailand’s mainly Muslim south, the first such killing of a Buddhist monk in the restive region in more than three years.

Military police officers are seen at a temple where unknown gunmen shot dead two Buddhist monks and injured two others on Friday in Su-ngai Padi district in the southern province of Narathiwat, Thailand, January 19, 2019. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom

An abbot and vice abbot were killed when at least six assailants believed to be dressed as members of a government security force burst into the Rattanupap temple in Narathiwat province and opened fire late on Friday, police said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha and religious leaders condemned the attack in the mainly ethnic Malay province, the scene of a long-running insurgency against Thai rule.

“The prime minister condemns this outrageous act and has ordered officials to quickly investigate the incident and apprehend these criminals,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Thai Muslim leaders also spoke out against the shooting of monks.

“We urge perpetrators of violence in the southern border provinces from all sides to stop killing innocent people and religious leaders,” the Sheikhul Islam Office, which represents Thailand’s Muslim minority, said in a statement.

Police said the assailants were still at large.

A separatist insurgency has dragged on in southern Thailand for more than fifteen years. More than 6,900 people have been killed and 13,000 injured in the area since 2004 when violence intensified, independent monitoring group Deep South Watch says.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country but Muslim Malays are a majority in three southern provinces bordering Malaysia.

The three provinces, and a small part of neighboring Songkhla, were part of a sultanate annexed by Thailand in 1909. Separatist tensions have simmered ever since.

As with most violence in Thailand’s deep south, there was no claim of responsibility for Friday’s attack. Buddhist and Muslim leaders as well as state officials have often been targeted by insurgents.

At least 23 monks have been killed and more than 20 wounded since 2004, but there has not been an attack on monks since 2015. An imam was shot on Jan. 11, also in Narathiwat province.

The killings have added a religious dimension to a conflict that initially was rooted in ethnic and national tensions.

“Many Buddhists, not just in the south but across the country, are feeling aggrieved by Muslims, and it will take time for that to change,” Rakchart Suwan, chairman of the Buddhist Network for Peace, told Reuters.

Analysts said the latest incident showed that insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) retained significant military capacity despite government efforts to wipe it out.

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“Regardless of BRN’s specific objectives with this attack, the Thai government would be very foolish not to consider the danger of a toxic communal atmosphere in the south which could get out of control,” Anthony Davis, an analyst with defense and security publisher Jane’s, told Reuters.

The Thai military government has taken part since 2015 in talks brokered by Malaysia that aim to end the violence but the BRN has stayed out of the dialogue.

That process was stalled last year and Bangkok has signaled that it will return to the talks this year.</s>NARATHIWAT, Thailand: Unknown gunmen shot dead two Buddhist monks and injured two others on Friday at a temple in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat, which has a mainly ethnic Malay, Muslim population.

"We believe that at least six assailants were involved in the shooting and are at large," a police spokesman in the Su-ngai Padi district told Reuters.

The victims, an abbot and vice abbot, were killed inside the Rattanupap Buddhist temple on Friday night. The two injured people were being treated at a nearby hospital.

A separatist insurgency has dragged on in southern Thailand for more than fifteen years. More than 6,900 people have been killed and 13,000 injured in the area since 2004 when violence intensified, independent monitoring group Deep South Watch says.

Religious figures, both Buddhists and Muslims as well as state officials, have often been targeted for attacks.

As with most violence in Thailand's deep south, there was no claim of responsibility.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country but Muslim Malays are a majority in three southern provinces bordering Malaysia.

The three provinces, and a small part of neighbouring Songkhla, were part of a sultanate annexed by Thailand in 1909. Separatist tensions have simmered ever since.

The Thai military government has taken part since 2015 in talks brokered by Malaysia that aim to end the violence but that process stalled last year. Bangkok has signalled that it will return to the talks this year.</s>Gunmen in Thailand’s deep south shot dead two Buddhist monks and wounded two others inside a temple, police said on Saturday, capping a week of deadly violence as the prime minister vowed to “punish” those responsible.

Black-clad assailants carrying rifles crept into Rattanaupap temple in Narathiwat province near Malaysia’s border on Friday evening and started firing, said local superintendent Pakdi Preechachon.

“The attack took place around 7:30pm when an unknown number of gunmen dressed in black entered the temple through a rear area via a creek,” Pakdi said. “Two monks were shot dead at the temple while two others were wounded.”

Since 2004 clashes between ethnic Malay-Muslim rebels and the Buddhist-majority Thai state that annexed the region a century ago have killed nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians of both faiths.

The death toll in the south dropped to a record low last year as Thailand’s junta tightened its security web but violence has boiled over in recent days, raising concerns about soft targets at schools and religious institutions.

In the past, Buddhist monks were not normally targeted.

But they have been told to suspend morning alms collection starting from Saturday in three southern provinces and the southern army commander has instructed security officials to step up safeguards of Islamic leaders who could also be at risk.

“The prime minister denounced such a brazen attack and instructed officials to investigate and find the assailants to punish them,” said government spokesman Buddhipongse Punnakanta.

Human Rights Watch, which said in a statement that at least 23 monks had been killed since the outbreak of the insurgency in 2004, called the assault “ghastly” and a war crime because gunmen went after civilians and a place of worship.

Pictures show monks standing next to heavily armed Thai soldiers and an alms bowl inside the temple compound with bullet holes in it.

Last week, an imam in the same province was shot dead but it was unclear whether the temple attack was related.

Friday’s shooting came on the same day four security officials were wounded by two separate roadside bombs and an insurgent was shot dead in a clash near a school that sent students home for the day.

Four civil defence volunteers were also killed in a drive-by shooting outside a school on January 10 in the south’s Pattani province, with security forces injuring a boy as they gunned down rebels believed to be responsible.

In a rare public statement dated January 4 the main Malay-Muslim rebel group – the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) – which has command and control over most of the insurgent foot soldiers, swore to “keep fighting”.

“Siam (Thailand) can’t hold out,” the BRN wrote, signing off with a warning: “Do not help and support Siam.”

Security analyst Don Pathan said the uptick in violence was connected to efforts from Thai negotiators and Malaysian facilitators across the border to “pressure the BRN ruling council to come to the table without offering possible concessions”.</s>(New York) – Separatist insurgents in Thailand’s southern border provinces killed two Buddhist monks in an unlawful assault on a temple, Human Rights Watch said today. The deliberate attack on civilians and a place of worship is a war crime. Separatist insurgents in Thailand’s Narathiwat province attacked Wat Rattanaphab temple on January 18, 2019, and killed two Buddhist monks, including the temple’s abbot Phra Khru Prachote Rattanarak, and wounded two others. © 2018 Private

On January 18, 2019, at about 8:30 p.m., a group of apparent ethnic Malay insurgents attacked Wat Rattananupab temple in Su Ngai Padi district of Narathiwat province, killing two Buddhist monks and wounding two others. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch they saw armed men arrive on motorcycles, open fire with assault rifles at the temple, and then storm inside and shoot the monks at point-blank range. Among those killed was the temple’s abbot, Phra Khru Prachote Rattananurak (real name, Sawang Vethmaha).

“The ghastly attack on Buddhist monks by insurgents in Thailand’s deep south is morally reprehensible and a war crime, and those responsible should be held to account,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The insurgents’ 15-year campaign of deliberately attacking Buddhist and Muslim civilians can’t be justified.”

The attack followed a pattern consistent with other insurgent attacks, and heightened fears in Su Ngai Padi district and other parts of the four southern border provinces. Thai authorities have instructed all Buddhist monks in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla provinces to stay inside temples and cease their daily morning routine of collecting alms.

Since the outbreak of armed insurgency in January 2004, Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) insurgents have targeted Buddhist temples and monks, which they consider emblematic of the Thai Buddhist state’s occupation of ethnic Malay Muslim territory. At least 23 monks have been killed and more than 20 wounded. The insurgents have also targeted security personnel assigned to provide monks safe passage to and from the temples.

The laws of war, also known as international humanitarian law, prohibit attacks on civilians and civilian objects, including houses of worship, or attacks that fail to discriminate between combatants and civilians. The laws of war provide no justification for insurgent claims that attacks on civilians are lawful because those targeted are part of the Thai Buddhist state or that Islamic law, as they interpret it, permits such attacks.

The laws of war also explicitly prohibit tactics frequently used by BRN insurgents, including reprisals and summary executions against civilians and captured combatants, mutilation or other mistreatment of the dead, and attacks directed at civilian facilities. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly condemned such laws-of-war violations by the insurgents.

Despite a peace dialogue between the Thai government and separatist groups under the umbrella of Majlis Syura Patani (Mara Patani), BRN insurgents have not ceased attacks on civilian targets.

Thai government security forces and militias have also committed numerous violations of the laws of war and international human rights law against Malay Muslim civilians and suspected BRN members. Extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture cannot be justified as reprisals for insurgent attacks.

The situation has been exacerbated by an entrenched culture of impunity for abuses by officials in the southern border provinces. The government has not successfully prosecuted any officials for crimes against ethnic Malay Muslims alleged to be involved in the insurgency. Human rights defenders and lawyers have faced intimidation, threats, and criminal libel charges after alleging abuses by Thai security forces.

“Both Muslims and Buddhists in southern Thailand are caught in the cycle of abuses and reprisals by insurgents and Thai security forces,” Adams said. “The Thai government needs to prosecute the atrocities by its own forces as well as those by the insurgents if this horrific violence is to stop.”</s>NARATHIWAT
• Unknown gunmen shot dead two Buddhist monks and injured two others in an attack at a temple in Thailand's mainly Muslim south, the first such killing of a Buddhist monk in the restive region in more than three years.

An abbot and a vice-abbot were killed when at least six assailants believed to be dressed as members of a government security force burst into the Rattanupap temple in Narathiwat province and opened fire late on Friday, police said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and religious leaders condemned the attack in the mainly ethnic Malay province, the scene of a long-running insurgency against Thai rule.

"The Prime Minister condemns this outrageous act and has ordered officials to quickly investigate the incident and apprehend these criminals," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Thai Muslim leaders also spoke out against the shooting of monks.

"We urge perpetrators of violence in the southern border provinces from all sides to stop killing innocent people and religious leaders," the Sheikhul Islam Office, which represents Thailand's Muslim minority, said in a statement.

Police said the assailants were still at large.

A separatist insurgency has dragged on in southern Thailand for more than fifteen years. More than 6,900 people have been killed and 13,000 injured in the area since 2004 when violence intensified, independent monitoring group Deep South Watch said.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country but Muslim Malays are a majority in three southern provinces bordering Malaysia.

The three provinces, and a small part of neighbouring Songkhla, were part of a sultanate annexed by Thailand in 1909. Separatist tensions have simmered ever since.

As with most violence in Thailand's deep south, there was no claim of responsibility for Friday's attack. Buddhist and Muslim leaders as well as state officials have often been targeted by insurgents.

At least 23 monks have been killed and more than 20 wounded since 2004, but there has not been an attack on monks since 2015. An imam was shot on Jan 11, also in Narathiwat province.</s>HAT YAI, Thailand — Police say gunmen presumed to be Muslim insurgents have stormed a Buddhist temple in southern Thailand, killing two monks and wounding two others.

The Friday night attack in Narathiwat province is the latest in a recent upsurge of violence in the area, which since 2004 has been plagued by a separatist insurgency that has claimed about 7,000 lives. Narathiwat is one of Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, the only ones with Muslim majorities in the Buddhist-dominated country.

The attacks have occurred during an effort to revitalize peace talks between the Thai government and some insurgent groups, and may be an effort to scuttle them by stoking popular outrage and inviting heavy handed retaliation.</s>HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) — Gunmen presumed to be Muslim insurgents stormed a Buddhist temple in southern Thailand, killing two monks and wounding two others, police said Saturday.

The Friday night attack in Narathiwat province was the latest in a recent upsurge of violence in the area, which since 2004 has been plagued by a separatist insurgency that has claimed about 7,000 lives. Narathiwat is one of Thailand's three southernmost provinces, the only ones with Muslim majorities in the Buddhist-dominated country.

Witnesses described seeing armed men arrive at the temple on motorcycles, open fire with automatic weapons and then storm inside where they shot the monks in their quarters, according to Thai news report. One of those killed was the temple's abbot.

The temple attack was one of several violent incidents in Narathiwat on Friday, including a roadside bombing that wounded five members of security forces, and a shootout between paramilitary rangers and five armed men that left one of the gunmen dead. The others escaped.

The attacks have occurred during an effort to revitalize peace talks between the Thai government and some insurgent groups, and may be an effort to scuttle them by stoking popular outrage and inviting heavy handed retaliation. Analysts say the most militant group, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, BRN, is not taking part in the talks.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch has pinned the blame for the ongoing violence on the BRN.

"The ghastly attack on Buddhist monks by insurgents in Thailand's deep south is morally reprehensible and a war crime, and those responsible should be held to account," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The insurgents' 15-year campaign of deliberately attacking Buddhist and Muslim civilians can't be justified."

The watchdog said that since the insurgency flared up in January 2004, BRN's members have targeted Buddhist temples and monks because they consider them emblematic of the Thai Buddhist state's "occupation" of ethnic Malay Muslim territory. At least 23 monks have been killed and more than 20 wounded, it said.

The insurgents have also targeted security personnel assigned to provide monks safe passage to and from the temples, it said.

Buddhist temples often serve as community centers, and monks are revered in Thailand. There is fear that attacks on temples could trigger vigilante action by Buddhist civilians against Muslims.

"This is a very brazen act to drive a wedge among people," Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights defender, told The Associated Press. "The cause of the conflict in the south is originally between the government and locals. But this is an attempt to turn the conflict to be between two religions," she added.

She said there are victims on both sides, noting that on Jan. 11, an Imam — a Muslim community leader — was gunned down. A lack of transparency in the judicial system makes it difficult to assign blame for the violence, said Pornpen, who also heads the Cross Cultural Foundation, which monitors and documents cases of torture and ill-treatment.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha condemned the violence and ordered security officers to find the culprits, said government spokesman Puttipong Punnakanta.</s>NARATHIWAT — Police on Saturday were still looking for the gunmen who attacked a temple in the Deep South, killing two Buddhist monks and injuring two others.

At about 8:30pm on Friday, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the monks at the Rattana Nuphap Temple in Narathiwat’s Su-ngai Padi district. The temple’s abbot, Prakru Prachote Rattananurak – also chief monk of the Sungai Padi district – died at the scene along with monk Phra Samu Auttapon Khun-ampai.

Another two monks were injured and sent for treatment.

The Army Area commander Lt. Gen. Pornsak Poolsawat ordered increased security measures at temples in the Deep South.

Government spokesman Puttipong Bunnakun said on Saturday morning that authorities are looking for the attackers.

Narathiwat is among the Deep South provinces, which have a major ethnic Muslim population.</s>Thailand's military leader and prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha on Saturday vowed to "punish" those responsible for storming a Buddhist temple near Malaysia's border, killing two monks.

Suspected Muslim gunmen dressed in black arrived at the Rattanaupap temple in the southern province of Narathiwat on motorbikes at around 7:30 p.m. local time on Friday (1230 UTC), officials said.

They then entered the building from the back and shot dead two monks, leaving two others wounded. One of those killed was the temple's abbot.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, the first to target monks for more than three years.

Security stepped up at temples and mosques

Local monks were told to suspend morning alms collection starting from Saturday in Thailand's three most southerly provinces. Security was also stepped up to protect Islamic leaders, after an imam in the same region was shot dead last week.

The temple attack was one of several violent incidents in Narathiwat on Friday, including a roadside bombing that wounded five members of the security forces, and a shootout between paramilitary rangers and five armed men that left one of the gunmen dead.

Read more: Thailand legalizes medicinal marijuana in New Year's 'gift'

A drive-by shooting on January 10th in neighboring Pattani province killed four civil defense volunteers.

"The ghastly attack on Buddhist monks by insurgents in Thailand's deep south is morally reprehensible, and a war crime and those responsible should be held to account," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

HRW has blamed the renewed violence on the militant group, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, BRN.

BRN has led a separatist campaign over the past 15 years that has left nearly 7,000 people, including at least 23 monks, dead.

Narathiwat is one of Thailand's three southernmost provinces, the only ones with Muslim majorities in the Buddhist-dominated country. The three provinces and a small part of neighboring Songkhla were part of a sultanate annexed by Thailand in 1909, and tensions have simmered ever since.

Read more: Will Thailand's military step aside after elections?

The Thai military government has taken part since 2015 in talks brokered by Malaysia that aim to end the violence, but the BRN has stayed out of the dialogue.

That process was stalled last year, and Bangkok has signaled that it will return to the talks this year.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>'The attack took place around 7:30 pm when an unknown number of gunmen dressed in black entered the temple through a rear area via a creek,' says Thai local superintendent Pakdi Preechachon

BANGKOK, Thailand – Gunmen in Thailand's deep south shot dead two Buddhist monks and wounded two others inside a temple, police said Saturday, January 19, capping a week of deadly violence as the prime minister vowed to "punish" those responsible.

Black-clad assailants carrying rifles crept into Rattanaupap temple in Narathiwat province near Malaysia's border on Friday evening, January 18 and started firing, local superintendent Pakdi Preechachon told Agence France-Presse.

"The attack took place around 7:30 pm (1230 GMT) when an unknown number of gunmen dressed in black entered the temple through a rear area via a creek," Pakdi said.

"Two monks were shot dead at the temple while two others were wounded."

Since 2004 clashes between ethnic Malay-Muslim rebels and the Buddhist-majority Thai state that annexed the region a century ago have killed nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians of both faiths.

The death toll in the south dropped to a record low last year as Thailand's junta tightened its security web but violence has boiled over in recent days, raising concerns about soft targets at schools and religious institutions.

In the past, Buddhist monks have been targeted only infrequently.

But they have been told to suspend morning alms collection starting from Saturday in 3 southern provinces and the southern army commander has instructed security officials to step up safeguards of Islamic leaders who could also be at risk.

"The prime minister denounced such a brazen attack and instructed officials to investigate and find the assailants to punish them," said government spokesman Buddhipongse Punnakanta.

Human Rights Watch, which said in a statement that at least 23 monks had been killed since the outbreak of the insurgency in 2004, called the assault "ghastly" and a war crime because gunmen went after civilians and a place of worship.

The Sheikhul Islam Office, a national representative of Muslim communities in Thailand, denounced the violence against the monks and expressed sorrow over the incident.

"There are no religions that teach people to kill innocent people, it's the work of some group of people who want to create divisiveness," it said in a statement Saturday.

Pictures taken in the aftermath show monks standing next to heavily armed Thai soldiers and an alms bowl inside the temple compound with bullet holes in it.

No one has claimed responsibility, but that is not unusual for the conflict.

Last week, an imam in the same province was shot dead but it was unclear if the temple attack was related.

Friday's shooting came the same day as 4 security officials were wounded by two separate roadside bombs and an insurgent was shot dead in a clash near a school that sent students home for the day.

Four civil defense volunteers were also killed in a drive-by shooting outside a school on January 10 in the south's Pattani province, with security forces injuring a boy as they gunned down rebels believed to be responsible.

In a rare public statement dated January 4 the main Malay-Muslim rebel group – the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) – which has command and control over most of the insurgent foot soldiers, swore to "keep fighting".

"Siam (Thailand) can't hold out," the BRN wrote, signing off with a warning: "Do not help and support Siam."

Security analyst Don Pathan said the uptick in violence was connected to efforts from Thai negotiators and Malaysian facilitators across the border to "pressure the BRN ruling council to come to the table without offering possible concessions." – Rappler.com
Unknown gunmen shoot dead two Buddhist monks and injure two others in an attack at a temple in Thailand’s mainly Muslim south.