Malaysia-Pre-dawn blasts at border post
Unidentified attackers threw hand grenades at a Malaysian army camp near the Thai border on Wednesday, wounding four soldiers, Malaysia's defence ministry said.
However, the Thai army described the incident as an accident involving Malaysian troops during a training exercise at their camp, and dismissed speculation the blast was the result of a clash.
The differing accounts could not be immediately reconciled.
The incident occurred before dawn in northern Kedah state, one of four Malaysian states that share a border with southern Thailand, a volatile region in the grip of an Islamic separatist insurgency.
A group of people "threw two hand grenades at the Malaysian camp near the Thai border," Fadzlette Othman Merican, a Defence Ministry spokeswoman, told The Associated Press.
Four soldiers suffered non-life threatening injuries and were flown to a nearby hospital, she said.
Malaysian and Thai authorities were investigating the incident, which occurred opposite the Thai village of Bandi Samua, she said. No other details were available.
Different version
The Thai army gave a different version of events.
"The Malaysian soldiers were injured by an accident at their camp. No one threw a bomb at them," said Col Akara Thiprote, a Thai army spokesman. "The relations between soldiers on the border are good."
The Thai army said in a statement, "Four soldiers suffered minor injuries caused by an explosion during an explosives training exercise."
Officials at the Thai base responded to a request for medical help by sending transportation to escort the injured Malaysian soldiers to a Thai hospital, where they received treatment and were discharged, the statement said.
Malaysia has kept a strict vigil on the border with Thailand to contain an Islamic insurgency in predominantly Buddhist Thailand's three Muslim-dominated provinces in the south.
More than 1,900 people have been killed since it flared in January 2004.
Muslims complain discrimination
Muslims in southern Thailand, who are of the same ethnicity and speak the same language as Malaysian Malays, complain of discrimination in jobs and education by Thailand's Buddhist-dominated government.
They also complain their religion and culture are being suppressed.
The communities on both sides of the porous border have close links and many families are related by marriage. Some Thai Muslims even have dual citizenship with Malaysia.
The Thai government says this allows many insurgents to easily seek refuge in Malaysia after carrying out attacks.
The two governments have pledged to resolve these problems by ending the practice of allowing dual citizenship.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the government is trying to get more information on a grenade attack which injured four soldiers on patrol at the Ban Din Samoe military post near the Malaysia-Thailand border at dawn Wednesday.
"We don't know whether a grenade was thrown at them or it was an accident. It's too early to make conclusions. We must know what really happened," he told Malaysian journalists here to cover the 12th Asean Summit.
Syed Hamid was asked whether he would discuss the matter with his Thai counterpart who is also attending the summit.
Bernama reported Thai army spokesman General Akara Thitrot as saying that the four sustained minor injuries and were treated at Kanto Hospital in Yala.
"They are still investigating the incident, but initial reports showed that it was an accident," he said.
However, Mohammad Ismail said Thai troops helped take the injured soldiers to a local village clinic in Ban Bin Samoe before they were airlifted to the hospital in Kedah.
Sources said that around 3am, soldiers at the post detected the presence of a group of men surrounding it.
After two hours of tense waiting, two explosions went off, resulting in the injuries to the four. The unknown group was said to have retreated after the soldiers opened fire.
Mohammad Ismail, however, declined to comment on the allegation that the soldiers were attacked.
"Please don’t speculate. We are still investigating," he said.
Malaysia Thailand explosion
However, the Thai army described the incident as an accident involving Malaysian troops during a training exercise at their camp, and dismissed speculation the blast was the result of a clash.
The differing accounts could not be immediately reconciled.
The incident occurred before dawn in northern Kedah state, one of four Malaysian states that share a border with southern Thailand, a volatile region in the grip of an Islamic separatist insurgency.
A group of people "threw two hand grenades at the Malaysian camp near the Thai border," Fadzlette Othman Merican, a Defence Ministry spokeswoman, told The Associated Press.
Four soldiers suffered non-life threatening injuries and were flown to a nearby hospital, she said.
Malaysian and Thai authorities were investigating the incident, which occurred opposite the Thai village of Bandi Samua, she said. No other details were available.
Different version
The Thai army gave a different version of events.
"The Malaysian soldiers were injured by an accident at their camp. No one threw a bomb at them," said Col Akara Thiprote, a Thai army spokesman. "The relations between soldiers on the border are good."
The Thai army said in a statement, "Four soldiers suffered minor injuries caused by an explosion during an explosives training exercise."
Officials at the Thai base responded to a request for medical help by sending transportation to escort the injured Malaysian soldiers to a Thai hospital, where they received treatment and were discharged, the statement said.
Malaysia has kept a strict vigil on the border with Thailand to contain an Islamic insurgency in predominantly Buddhist Thailand's three Muslim-dominated provinces in the south.
More than 1,900 people have been killed since it flared in January 2004.
Muslims complain discrimination
Muslims in southern Thailand, who are of the same ethnicity and speak the same language as Malaysian Malays, complain of discrimination in jobs and education by Thailand's Buddhist-dominated government.
They also complain their religion and culture are being suppressed.
The communities on both sides of the porous border have close links and many families are related by marriage. Some Thai Muslims even have dual citizenship with Malaysia.
The Thai government says this allows many insurgents to easily seek refuge in Malaysia after carrying out attacks.
The two governments have pledged to resolve these problems by ending the practice of allowing dual citizenship.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the government is trying to get more information on a grenade attack which injured four soldiers on patrol at the Ban Din Samoe military post near the Malaysia-Thailand border at dawn Wednesday.
"We don't know whether a grenade was thrown at them or it was an accident. It's too early to make conclusions. We must know what really happened," he told Malaysian journalists here to cover the 12th Asean Summit.
Syed Hamid was asked whether he would discuss the matter with his Thai counterpart who is also attending the summit.
Bernama reported Thai army spokesman General Akara Thitrot as saying that the four sustained minor injuries and were treated at Kanto Hospital in Yala.
"They are still investigating the incident, but initial reports showed that it was an accident," he said.
However, Mohammad Ismail said Thai troops helped take the injured soldiers to a local village clinic in Ban Bin Samoe before they were airlifted to the hospital in Kedah.
Sources said that around 3am, soldiers at the post detected the presence of a group of men surrounding it.
After two hours of tense waiting, two explosions went off, resulting in the injuries to the four. The unknown group was said to have retreated after the soldiers opened fire.
Mohammad Ismail, however, declined to comment on the allegation that the soldiers were attacked.
"Please don’t speculate. We are still investigating," he said.
Malaysia Thailand explosion
Labels: Malaysia news
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