2009 Thailand standoff

The 2009 Thailand standoff between insurgents and Thai police and military took place in Yala, Thailand on June 27, 2009 at 7:55 am local time. A combined force of 200 district police officers and soldiers of Taskforce 15 sealed off a house in the Bannang Sata district of Yala province after locals tipped them of the presence of separatist militants.

Standoff
As police and the army stormed the building, militants holed up inside opened fire, killing Sgt Maj Pongsathorn Niraphai of the Bannang Sata police station and Sergeant Major 3rd Class Sangsun Kalong, 39,a soldier. A suspected militant,Sopepun Buenae, 26 was killed when he tried to escape. At least two rebels managed to escape despite being cornered for nearly 5 hours.

Background
In recent weeks, attacks by separatists have increased. So far, 41 people have been killed and 60 wounded in June alone. Earlier in June, masked gunmen killed 11 worshippers in a mosque in the Narathiwat province. The incident, which also wounded 12 people was considered as one of the worst attacks in 5 years. A $5,900 reward for leads on the attack. Since 2004, more than 3700 people have died in the ethnic Malay provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.