The security authorities have outlined a plan for the progressive reduction of military presence and lifting of the emergency in the far South in four years. Fourth Region Army commander Lt Gen Santi Sakuntanak said on Saturday a gradual withdrawal of troops is already underway in the region.
For 19 years since the insurgent violence flared up in 2004, various forms of unrest have wreaked havoc on people’s lives, the economy and communities in the southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, as well as parts of Songkhla.
The onset of the violence came in January 2004 when militants overran the 4th Development Battalion at the Kromluang Narathiwat Ratchanakarin military camp in Narathiwat’s Cho Airong district, taking off with a large cache of firearms.
The theft preceded a wave of attacks and snowballed into a separatist movement seeking autonomy. State authorities have resorted to various strategies to quell the violence, albeit without success.
Lt Gen Santi said that in the early years of unrest from 2004 to 2010, the military’s main mission was to contain security woes and fight insurgent attacks by deploying extra troops mobilised from the First, Second and Third Army regions to assist the Fourth Army region stationed in the far South.
At the same time, the army sent its peacekeeping personnel whose duty was partly to monitor the insurgents’ movements in 217 villages where they were active. The personnel were also briefed to work to the win trust of residents, which was helpful to the peace restoration effort.
Since 2011, Lt Gen Santi said a 1,700-strong combined force made up of non-military officials and police were assigned to safety protection duties in 37 districts of the far South. An additional 7,000 defence volunteers were also dispatched to maintain peace across tambons.
With more police and defence officials moving in, the soldiers were gradually being withdrawn and returned to their army regions.