Insurgent attack on Guanyin statue construction site in Thailand condemned as war crime

Separatist insurgents in southern Thailand targeted a construction site for a 136-metre Guanyin statue in Songkhla province on 20 November 2024, injuring three civilians, including a child.

Human Rights Watch has condemned the grenade attack as a violation of international humanitarian law and an apparent war crime.

The assault occurred at approximately 6:10 a.m. in Thepa district, where grenades fired at the site caused injuries to two workers and a nine-year-old girl.

Fires broke out in the workers’ camp, and a pickup truck was destroyed. Insurgents reportedly left leaflets threatening to kill Thai Buddhist and Myanmar workers if construction continued.

“The insurgent attack on workers at the Guanyin statue construction site is a serious violation of the laws of war and an apparent war crime,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“The armed group and individuals responsible should be held to account for this unlawful and morally reprehensible act.”

This incident marks the first attack on a non-Islamic religious site by insurgents in five years.

Previous insurgent violence in Thailand’s southern provinces, predominantly driven by Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) forces, has targeted Buddhist temples and clergy, often seen as symbols of Thai state influence.

Between 2004 and 2019, insurgents killed at least 23 Buddhist monks and injured more than 20.

Ethnic Malay Muslim communities have opposed the Guanyin statue project since 2022, citing fears that its construction, funded by industrial estate developer TPI Polene Power, may facilitate contentious industrial development and increase Chinese influence in the region.

Human Rights Watch has emphasised that international humanitarian law prohibits attacks on civilians, civilian sites, houses of worship, and cultural properties. Indiscriminate attacks not directed at specific military targets are also banned.

The ongoing insurgency in Thailand’s southern border provinces has caused significant civilian casualties and suffering on both sides.

While the BRN insurgents have been responsible for attacks violating international laws, Thai government forces and militias have also faced accusations of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture.

Despite these atrocities, accountability remains scarce. Human Rights Watch highlighted the failure to prosecute officials involved in the Tak Bai massacre in 2004, where 85 ethnic Malay Muslim protesters died in military custody.

Legal action was further obstructed when the statute of limitations expired on 25 October 2024.

“It’s critically important for the BRN and other insurgents to immediately cease attacks on civilians and for the Thai authorities to fully prosecute security personnel responsible for rights violations,” Pearson added.

“Only then will civilians in Thailand’s deep south escape this 20-year cycle of abuses by all sides.”