Q+A: What is behind Thailand's mysterious insurgency?

By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Five years after a violent rebellion erupted in Thailand's southern Muslim provinces, the conflict remains shrouded in mystery.

No credible group has claimed responsibility for the near-daily attacks or made their demands public.

The death toll from the unrest in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces is close to 3,500, with neither a military victory nor a political solution looking likely.

WHO IS BEHIND THE VIOLENCE?

No group has publicly come forward, but analysts, academics and the military believe the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) Coordinate is the main player.

The group is said to be a military offshoot of the Patani Malay National Revolutionary Front, a political movement established in the 1960s to seek independence, or at least autonomy, for the region's ethnic Malay Muslims.

A low-level insurgency in the 1970s and early 1980s, fought mainly in the jungle, ended with an amnesty for fighters. The violence resurfaced in 2004.

Its leaders are unknown. The government believes they may be living in Malaysia or in Europe. The authorities have long suspected prominent local politicians, religious leaders and Islamic teachers of involvement.

WHERE DOES THE SEPARATIST SENTIMENT COME FROM?

The region was once an independent Malay Muslim sultanate called Patani. Thailand, then Siam, first invaded in 1786 and, according to historians, forced many people into slavery.

Patani was annexed by Siam in 1909 as part of a treaty with Britain and successive governments sought to assimilate the population into the Thai Buddhist mainstream, with bans on Islamic schools and attire and the outlawing of the Malay dialect, Muslim names and the teaching of local history.

Uprisings were aggressively handled by the authorities and pro-independence figures disappeared or were killed. Deep resentment still exists and many Muslims say Thailand, and its people, have long refused to recognize their identity.

WHAT ARE THE REBELS' CAPABILITIES?

Their attacks are brutal but simple, ranging from drive-by shootings and beheadings to arson and small-scale bombings.

But beneath the surface, experts say, the reclusive rebels have a complex multi-cell structure of recruitment, combat and control, with the leadership known only to a few members.