BANGKOK – Ten Muslim villagers killed by gunmen firing assault rifles into a mosque during evening prayers. A 53-year-old Buddhist rubber tapper shot, decapitated and limbs cut from his torso, his head impaled on a stick.
The circumstances and brutality of those attacks this month have revived fears that a long-running insurgency in Thailand's south could be evolving into a sectarian conflict pitting Buddhists against Muslims.
Islamic separatists ignited the insurgency in January 2004, sparking a cycle of army repression and rebellion that has left more than 3,500 people dead. Frustrated by their inability to curb the violence, Thai security forces have increasingly been arming civilian self-defense forces — almost all Buddhist — to protect villagers.
The proliferation of guns, many put in the poorly trained hands of parties with scores to settle, makes the situation extremely volatile.
The June 8 attack on the Al Furqan mosque in Narathiwat province's Joh-I-Rong district and its aftermath suggest such initiatives may have backfired.
With cold deliberation, five or six masked gunmen dressed in black poured fire into the mosque, which serves a community that had avoided the deadly tumult of recent years.
"Communities can no longer distinguish between security officers, insurgents and criminals," says a report completed just before the recent attacks by Nonviolence International, a U.S.-based pacifist group. "Each new act of violence not only incites acts of revenge but also brings to the fore sentiments of nationalist extremism and ethno-religious divisions."
Many local Muslims believe the mosque massacre was revenge for the killing of a young Buddhist rubber plantation worker in a nearby district earlier that day.
Most appear loath to believe that Islamist insurgents would attack a mosque, even though a majority of those they have killed in the past 5 1/2 years have been Muslims. Militants target those seen as collaborators with the government, or those whose efforts promoting moderation or reconciliation threaten to undercut their struggle.
"I don't believe Muslims would do such a thing. We were taught since a very young age that a mosque is the house of Allah," said Vanasae Kuwaekama, whose father was the local imam and one of the victims. "I hope the authorities find out who carried out the attack so the speculation giving Muslims a bad name ends."
When the dismembered remains of rubber tapper Kimsiang Sae-tang were discovered a week after the attack in neighboring Yala province, a note found near his body claimed the killing was revenge for the mosque assault, according to police.
"We believe the insurgents want to fuel sectarian violence between the two groups. Right now, the people of the two communities who previously interacted normally are closing doors on one another. There is complete silence," said Lt. Col. Chalermchai Sutinuan, the army's field commander in Narathiwat.
Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist nation, annexed the Muslim-majority south in the early 20th century. The Muslims, who are ethnically distinct from Thais, have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens, with inadequate educational and job opportunities.
Now the insurgents' offensive has generated insecurity and panic among Buddhists in the three southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
"This insecurity is feeding a sense of nationalism among the Buddhist population in the area," says Nonviolence International's report. "They feel obliged to protect their 'motherland.' Firearms and civilian forces are consequently requested and welcomed."
The group says more responsibility for security has been handed over to poorly trained and screened paramilitary and defense volunteer forces who have little regard for law and human rights but may pursue their own agendas.
Arming civilians, the group says, "breaks down social ties and intensifies ethnic polarization."
Associated Press writer Sumeth Panpetch contributed to this report from Narathiwat, Thailand.
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