No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks. Provinces in southern Thailand along the Malaysian border have experienced a decades-long, low-level insurgency in which the Thai government has battled shadowy groups seeking independence for the predominantly Muslim provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and parts of Songkhla. More than 7,300 people have been killed in the conflict since 2004, according to the violence-monitoring group Deep South Watch. Peace talks that began in 2013 have faced repeated interruptions. Wednesday’s attacks came after the Thai government earlier this year restarted talks with the main rebel group, Barisan Revolusi Nasional, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO), which was sidelined from the latest round of talks, carried out bombings during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, claiming that the dialogue does not include exclusion. The government has said it is ready to talk to all groups. The group’s leader, Kasturi Mahota, told Reuters Wednesday’s attacks had “nothing to do with PULO”.
