BANGKOK, 19 January 2004 — Nerves have been further frayed in southern Thailand following the killing of a Muslim leader, as authorities pursued their search for those behind deadly violence which flared this month, officials said yesterday.
The body of Matohlafi Maesae, a district official in Narathiwat Province which borders Malaysia, was found on a roadside Saturday three days after he was reportedly abducted from his home by armed men.
Narathiwat’s Islamic council chairman, Abdulrahman Abdul Samed, said Muslims were alarmed, and believed Matohlafi had been murdered by officials who suspected he was involved in separatist groups and the Jan. 4 raid on an arms depot.
“They are very concerned and frightened. They believe men in uniform are involved with the kidnapping,” Abdulrahman told AFP.
“They’re afraid they will be the next to be kidnapped or killed,” he said, adding that residents were staying behind closed doors after dark.
Abdulrahman said he and the chairmen of the Islamic councils of the other four provinces in the deep south hoped to petition Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to look into the killing.
Muslim-majority southern Thailand, where a low-grade separatist movement has simmered for decades, has been gripped by a sudden wave of unrest this month. The arms depot raid left four soldiers killed while 18 schools were set ablaze in a coordinated attack.
