Dozens of attacks in southern Thailand wound three people

By AFP and Reuters. Published On 23 Aug 202623 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Two women, aged 45 and 46, and a 21-year-old man were hurt in a roadside bombing in Narathiwat, provincial authorities stated in an official note.
• The Narathiwat military command earlier confirmed a curfew from Saturday night until 6am on Sunday.
• Narathiwat Governor Boonchuay Homyamyen informed local media that concerned agencies were investigating sites of the attacks on Sunday, including a local administration office, telecommunications towers and electrical poles.
• Dozens of coordinated arson and incendiary attacks throughout Thailand's south left at least three residents wounded and administration property burned, the military has remarked.
• Last month, assailants killed five soldiers in a shooting and bomb attack at a checkpoint in Narathiwat.

Multiple local administration offices and a number of vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the 51 attacks late on Saturday, according to the military's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC).

"Multiple coordinated incidents aimed at creating unrest occurred in various locations across the southern border provinces" from regarding 8pm (13: 00 GMT) to midnight on Saturday, the ISOC stated in an official note.

While police officers halted motorists for security checks, footage from the local broadcaster Thai PBS demonstrated, firefighters worked to extinguish burning tyres left in the middle of a road and flames inside a 7-Eleven convenience store on Saturday night.

While other attacks occurred in neighbouring Yala and Pattani provinces, authorities remarked, most of the attacks were in Narathiwat province, where three civilians were wounded and an overnight curfew was imposed.

As rebels in the Muslim-majority region battle for greater autonomy, since 2004, a low-level conflict has simmered in the southernmost provinces of Buddhist-majority Thailand, killing more than 7, 000 individuals. No group has asserted responsibility for Saturday's attacks.

Two women, aged 45 and 46, and a 21-year-old man were hurt in a roadside bombing in Narathiwat, provincial authorities stated in an official note. All three were admitted to hospital and were in stable condition.

Meanwhile, the national railway operator temporarily suspended part of a route in Narathiwat after authorities identified damage on the tracks "caused by a disruptive bombing incident last night", the ISOC noted.

Meanwhile, the Narathiwat military command earlier confirmed a curfew from Saturday night until 6am on Sunday.

For context, a vehicle was stolen from the office of a subdistrict administrative organisation in Narathiwat during one of the attacks that left the building in flames, the ISOC remarked. The burned-out pick-up truck was afterwards identified abandoned on a road.

At a municipal office in Pattani province, damaged in another attack, army commander for the southern region Norathip Poinok remarked on Sunday that the assailants had aimed to destroy the building and undermine public trust in the state.

"We had intelligence reports for about two months that there would be attacks on local offices, " he remarked to journalists, adding that the military had issued warnings to security agencies but did not know when and where the assaults would occur.

Rebels in the far south regularly carry out attacks on security authorities and administration property, including before visits by authorities to the region.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and members of his cabinet are scheduled to create a two-day visit to the city of Hat Yai in southern Songkhla province next week to discuss investment projects, flood prevention and security matters, his office noted on Saturday.

Formal discussions between the Thai administration and the National Revolutionary Front, abbreviated as BRN in the local language, the main separatist group in the south, were projected to resume in June after a rise in violence. The negotiations have struggled to resolve disagreements over self-government, security measures and political representation.

Earlier this week, Thanut Suvarnananda, head of Thailand's National Intelligence Agency who was appointed by the administration in April to lead the peace process, stated he wants to move away from a transactional approach.

Thanut remarked he seeks to turn the BRN from an adversary into a potential partner in addressing demands from communities throughout Thailand's deep south, including the predominantly Malay-Muslim provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat that were once part of the independent Malay sultanate of Patani.

For now, dozens of attacks in southern Thailand wound three people remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.