Thai forces kill 2 linked to deadly school shooting
Authorities in Pattani province also detain a suspect and are questioning five others
BANGKOK: Two insurgents believed to be tied to a motorcycle drive-by shooting at a school in Thailand’s south were shot dead on Saturday, police said, as Unicef warned of trauma for children near the scene of the lunchtime violence.
Since 2004 clashes between rebels and the Thai state that annexed the area over 100 years ago have killed nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians.
The conlict rarely makes global headlines but is a reality for residents of border provinces where security forces maintain a large footprint, aided by poorly paid defence “volunteers” drawn from local communities.
The four men killed in Thursday’s shooting were all Muslims and were guarding a school in Pattani province when the attackers struck just before lunchtime with students mere metres away.
Pattani provincial police commander Piyawat Chalermsri told AFP on Saturday that two people with alleged ties to the school violence were killed in a shootout on Saturday morning.
Though he did not give information about their identities or afiliation, he said he was “conident that they are the same group who carried out the attack on Thursday” by driving by on motorbikes.
Authorities have also detained one suspect and are questioning ive others, while a military source said an eightyear-old had been grazed by a bullet but not seriously injured.
Unicef Thailand representative Thomas Davin said on Friday that one child at the Bukoh school attack was reportedly injured by debris and some who may have witnessed the attack could face long term psychological trauma.
“This attack has undoubtedly put the school children, the teachers and school personnel in harm’s way. It has put children at grave risk of injury or death,” he said.
“Such violence could also affect parents’ willingness to send their children to school — potentially to the detriment of many children’s learning and future development.”
The 15-year insurgency has seen scores of teachers killed, slain for their perceived collaboration with the Thai state, which led to the use of armed guards at schools.
The death toll in the conlict dropped to a record low last year as Thailand’s junta tightened its security operations.
But recent weeks have seen an uptick in violence, as rebels show they remain able to carry out more pinpointed operations.