Separatist insurgents in Thailand's deep south carried out a deadly attack on a government office in Su Ngai Kolok district in Narathiwat province, Human Rights Watch said today. The deliberate attack on civilians was an apparent war crime under international humanitarian law.
Credible sources told Human Rights Watch that security camera footage shows that on March 9, 2025, at 7:10 p.m., 10 heavily armed insurgents stormed the compound of Su Ngai Kolok district office while on-duty defense volunteers, who are affiliated with the Interior Ministry, were breaking their Ramadan fast. The insurgents opened fire with assault rifles, threw grenades, and detonated a large car bomb. Two defense volunteers were killed, and eight others were injured. Three passersby were also wounded near the compound.
"Separatist insurgents in Thailand's deep south have again used deadly violence to terrorize civilians and destroy government property," said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The insurgents need to recognize that these are war crimes and cannot be justified."
Shortly after the attack on the district office, two additional bombs exploded, one near railway tracks and another outside the Big C shopping mall in Su Ngai Kolok district. There were no reports of casualties. In the neighboring Pattani province, there was another bomb attack in Sai Buri district. One soldier was killed and two civilians were wounded.
Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) insurgents have often unlawfully targeted ethnic Malay Muslims they accuse of being munafiq (religious hypocrites) for working with Thai authorities. Many ethnic Malay Muslim defense volunteers received letters from the BRN threatening them with death if they did not quit their jobs. Similar death threats have also been found in banners and graffiti displayed in public areas.
International humanitarian law, also known as the laws of war, is applicable in Thailand's southern border provinces, and protects civilians and civilian structures from attack. Government officials and agencies not participating in military operations are civilian, and not subject to attack. All those responsible for planning, ordering, or carrying out attacks targeting civilians should be appropriately prosecuted for war crimes.
Since the armed insurgency began in January 2004, BRN insurgents have carried out thousands of attacks in violation of the laws of war, which Human Rights Watch has repeatedly condemned.
BRN insurgents seek to liberate Patani Darussalam (Islamic Land of Patani) from what they contend is a Thai Buddhist occupation. They have made legally unjustified claims that attacks on civilian officials such as teachers are permitted because they are part of the Thai state or because the BRN's interpretation of Islam permits such attacks.
Violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Thai government security forces also remains a grave concern, Human Rights Watch said.
Thai government security forces and militias have committed numerous violations against ethnic Malay Muslim civilians and suspected BRN members, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.
An entrenched culture of impunity for human rights violations by government officials has exacerbated the situation in the southern border provinces, Human Rights Watch said. Under the laws of war, abuses by one party never justify abuses by the other.
Thai authorities recently failed to prosecute 14 former military personnel and government officials indicted on charges related to the violent dispersal of ethnic Malay Muslim protesters in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province in October 2004, and the subsequent death in military custody of 85 people and injuries to several hundred. The 20-year statute of limitations ended in October 2024, preventing further legal action.
"BRN should cease its deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, and the Thai government should fully and fairly prosecute abusive officials," Pearson said. "The people in Thailand's deep south need to escape the violence that has marked the region for more than 20 years."
