Waves of attacks in Thailand’s deep south leave villagers trapped in a cycle of fear

Waves of attacks in Thailand’s deep south leave villagers trapped in a cycle of fear3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 1:44pm, 28 Aug 2026Security guard Ni-arfan Doloh was taking a routine photograph for his nightly report on Saturday when five masked men carrying rifles emerged from inside a government office in Thailand’s southern Narathiwat province.“I was shocked,” said Ni-arfan, 25, recalling how they led him and another guard behind the Chang Phueak subdistrict office, instructed them to sit with their hands behind their backs, and promised no harm would come to them.The masked men then set fire to the building, one of at least 78 incidents in a coordinated wave ‌of arson, bombings and other attacks across four provinces in Thailand’s insurgency-hit deep south last weekend, injuring three people.01:06Dozens of coordinated arson attacks in Thailand’s insurgency-hit southNo group has claimed responsibility, as is the case with most attacks in the predominantly Muslim and ethnic Malay provinces bordering Malaysia, where a slow-burning insurgency waged by separatist movements has killed more than 7,800 people since violence flared in 2004.