By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) - Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim held a phone conversation on Wednesday to discuss the latest surge in violence in Thailand’s southern provinces, officials said.
Anwar emphasized the need for dialogue over force, referencing the Southern Thailand Peace Dialogue and stating it “requires peace initiatives rather than involving any elements of violence,” according to a statement on his official X account.
The conversation followed a series of attacks in the region. In Yala city, a roadside bomb injured two military engineers. In a separate incident, armed men opened fire in two separate locations in Narathiwat city, killing four people.
The insurgency in Thailand’s southern provinces -- primarily Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and parts of Songkhla -- dates back to 1948 and has roots in ethnic and religious tensions in the historically Malay Patani region.
According to the conflict-monitoring group Deep South Watch, more than 7,000 people were killed and 13,000 injured between 2004 and 2020 in clashes between insurgents and Thai security forces.