Thailand, rebel group agree to seek peace talks
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Buy SPH photosKUALA LUMPUR: Steps towards elusive peace in Thailand's restive south commenced on Thursday as the Thai government signed its first ever peace agreement with a rebel group in its Muslim-majority south.
The deal was signed in Kuala Lumpur between Thai officials and a representative of the Revolution National Front separatist rebel group here.
The pledge to commit to peace talks came ahead of the fifth Thailand - Malaysia annual consultative meeting between Prime Ministers Yingluck Shinawatra and Najib Razak in Putrajaya on Thursday.
The conflict in Thailand's southern province bordering Malaysia has claimed some 5,000 lives over the past decade, as Muslim Thais there seek a separate Muslim state, some even to join Malaysia.
