The July 25 bomb attack in Pattani’s Saiburi district which killed a Buddhist monk and a soldier and wounded six other people, including another monk and two other soldiers was nothing new but just an act of violence against the “soft” target by the militants.

The office of the Chula Ratchamontri (Muslim spiritual leader) announced on Thursday night the Hari Raya Aidifitri on July 17 – the festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Violence in the restive Deep South has escalated as the fasting month of Ramadan is about to come to an end in mid-July.

It now appears to be quite clear that the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) separatist group was not represented in the previous peace talks in Kuala Lumpur between the Thai government and separatist groups led by Hassan Taib which was brokered by Malaysia as the facilitator.

While there is still no progress on the Malaysia-brokered peace talks between the Thai government and separatist groups, informal peace talks between local government officials and government opponents are making headway.