ONSITE in Thailand: Thailand Rocked by Insurgent Violence

As Bangkok readies for next week's Thai Travel Mart, the country is being rocked by several fatal bombings and gunfire attacks in southern Thailand by separatist insurgents. On Thursday, 10 soldiers died in a roadside bomb attack, while five people were killed in a separate incident in Songkhla province, when gunmen fired at local Muslims in a mosque. A bomb exploded last Monday in front of a busy market in the province of Songkhla, killing four people and wounding about 25. Since January 2004 it's estimated that over 2,100 people have died in southern Thailand due to a resurgence of unrest. Travel Agent Magazine will monitor the situation from Bangkok in the next several days and attempt to ascertain what this resurgence of violence means for Thailand's tourism in the southern provinces.