Violence tests soft strategy in Thailand's Muslim south

Behind the insurgency is a century of smoldering resentment against Thai rule. Once part of a Muslim sultanate, the area was formally annexed in 1909. Since then, successive rebellions have flared and fizzled, fed by claims of systematic discrimination against ethnic-Malay Muslims whose faith, language, and culture span both sides of the land border with Malaysia.

Given these longstanding grievances, analysts say it will take time for Surayud's conciliatory gestures to bear fruit. Security officers say they are beginning to build trust in some communities, a crucial step toward isolating hard-core insurgents said to number in the low thousands. More than 20,000 soldiers are deployed in the south, and military chiefs have promised to add more troops in the coming months.

Muslim community leaders say they welcome the new government's fresh approach, but have yet to see it translate into actions on the ground. They complain that security forces continue to indiscriminately harass and detain Muslims after attacks, adding to a sense of injustice and frustration. "Muslim people want to cooperate with the government. But their trust has been destroyed," says Ahmad Somboon Bualuang, a former member of a government peace panel.

Last year, after receiving death threats, Mr. Bualuang began locking his front door for the first time. Nowadays, he keeps his distance from Buddhist friends. "I tell them, 'We can still meet each other, but at night please don't come to my house,' " he says.

Even in the relative safety of Bualuang's urban neighborhood in Pattani, the bustling provincial capital, away from the rural "red zone" where insurgent attacks are common, the conflict has crept into everyday life.

Fear and paranoia are also more palpable. In nearby Yaha district, a blanket of silence descends over the daily killings, and digging into the truth is a risky proposition that most villagers shun.

Last week in Yaha, Mat Uma sat cradling his youngest son in his lap as relatives and friends gathered at his house to mourn the loss of his son-in-law. A week earlier, Mr. Uma had been working at his roadside tea shop, a short drive away, when a pickup truck pulled up outside. Witnesses say a group of masked men jumped from the truck and fired indiscriminately into a crowd of about 25 men inside the shop.

Among the dead was Uma's son-in-law, Ahmad Sukri, and two other local men. Ten other victims were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds. Earlier in the evening, talk at the tea shop had turned to the day's news of the bus massacre.

Uma says he doesn't want to think about whether his family was a victim of a revenge attack or who might have been behind it. "Today we don't know who is who ... I think if the situation carries on like this, the government won't solve the problem. Good people will die, and the bad people will be sitting and laughing," he says.

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