Bangkok: The leader of a Muslim insurgent group in southern Thailand denounced the recent announcement of a cease-fire in the region as a hoax, while suspected rebels set off a bomb on Monday that wounded seven people.
Six policemen and a civilian were wounded when the homemade bomb triggered by a cell phone exploded along a road in Yala province, police Lieutenant Chaiya Phoorahong said. Muslim rebels were suspected in the attack.
Shortly before Monday's violence, the deputy president of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation, or PULO, denounced an alleged cease-fire agreement between the Thai government and a group called the United Southern Underground.
PULO, claiming to represent others involved in the insurgency, announced last Thursday that it had ended all violence in the region. The announcement was greeted with widespread doubt.
The previously unknown group is one of the oldest of the insurgent groups but is not believed to be the current driving force behind the violence.
Former army commander and Defense Minister Chetta Thanajaro said the organisation that made the announcement represented 11 different underground groups operating in
southern Thailand.
