Thailand: Bombing in Pattani province on June 19

Event

Six Thai soldiers were killed and four others injured on Monday, June 19, by a roadside bomb planted by suspected Muslim insurgents in the southern province of Pattani. The device exploded as soldiers on a routine patrol were passing by. As with most violence in Thailand’s deep south, there was no claim of responsibility.

Context

A separatist insurgency in Thailand's three Muslim-majority southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6800 lives since it erupted 13 years ago, with both militants and Thailand's military accused of human rights abuses. Low-intensity bombings and assassinations often occur in the area, which is heavily patrolled by soldiers and police.

Violence in the south typically increases in intensity during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year ends on Sunday, June 25.

Advice

Individuals present southern Thailand are advised to avoid the bomb site until the situation normalizes. As a reminder, most Western governments advise against nonessential travel to Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, as well as the province of Songkhla and areas along the Cambodian and Burmese borders due to the presence of armed militias.