From Reuters, with thanks to Twostellas:
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Gunmen killed a Buddhist former policeman and fired three grenades into an army outpost in two separate incidents in Thailand’s restive Muslim south, police said on Sunday.
The attacks came hours after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to restore peace in a month in the troubled region where more than 200 people have been killed since January. …
Thaksin, frustrated with his government’s failure to restore peace in the mainly Muslim region and facing complaints of human rights violations by troops, said on Friday the military would step up patrols and intensify searches in the three southernmost provinces under martial law since January.
“We have to go on the offensive, otherwise bandits will come out and continue to kill our people one after another,” Thaksin told reporters after chairing a meeting of security officials.
But his political opponents were skeptical.
“Judging from the continuing violence, the government can just forget about what it has wished for,” said opposition Democrat Party leader Banyat Bantadtan on a visit to the region.
He said he expected the violence to continue for some time.
Indeed. It will continue until Thailand becomes an Islamic state or the radical Muslims are driven out of the country.