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November 27, 2005
Thailand: Villager Killed in South, 86 Muslims Detained in Northeast
Australia's News.com reports that another villager has been killed int he troubled south. 59-year old Boonchu Chaisiri was shot by suspected Muslim militants in the province of Narathiwat. A police spokesman said that Boonchu had been tending to is rice field when attackers arrived who asked him for directions. "Right after Boonchu turned his back to the strangers, he was shot three times at the back," said Sub-Lieutenant Supachoke Vimonsin.
Meanwhile, a curious tale of travelling Cambodian Muslims has been reported in newsfeeds since yesterday. News.com states that the group of at least 86 Muslims have now been apprehended by the military.
Earlier this morning, the Bangkok Post reported that the Thai authorities were keeping a close watch on this group following their arrival at the northern Thai border.
The Muslims originate from Cambodia's Kampong Cham province, and came into Thailand via an immigration checkpoint at Sa Kaeo, Aranyaprathet. Questioned by soldiers under the Burapha Task Force, the group, which comprised 47 men, was allowed to enter, as they had valid passports. They had documentation saying their final destination was Malaysia.
The group told immigration officers that they were seeking work in Malaysia, and their guide, Isa Barohim said they were heading for the district of Sungkai Kolok district in the south, where they would then be picked up and taken to their destination. He could not say where this destination was expected to be, though he said he intended to hire a van to drive them to the south where they would be met by an unnamed contact.
According to AsiaNewsnet, the group had made conflicting claims about their intentions and their destinations. Some said they were passing through Thailand towards Malaysia for employment, while others said they were heading to southern Thailand where they intended to take up Islamic schooling.
News.com in a recent release have now said that the group was initially allowed to cross by the border immigration authorities at Aranyaprathet, but were subsequently detained by the military.
The number of Khmer Muslim students in Thailand has dwindled dramatically over the last year as the situation of conflict in the south becomes more intense. Bangkok Post states that despite this, the number of Khmer Muslims arriving across the eastern Thai/Cambodia border has increased, with more than 1,000 arriving in the last three months, according to Maj-General Khanit Saphitak of the Burapha Task Force.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 27, 2005 8:11 AM
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