The Thai government on Tuesday promised to pay compensation to the families of 32 militants massacred in a mosque on the bloodiest day of the country's resurgent separatist uprising.
The government admitted troops used excessive force when they stormed the mosque in the country's troubled south during a failed rebellion that left 108 militants and five security forces dead.
The raid on the Krue Se mosque in April was the bloodiest event of a day of fierce fighting with soldiers using eight grenades and heavy weaponry against the militants but the crisis could have ended peacefully, according to the four-page summary of a report released Tuesday.
An independent committee that investigated the killings said troops should have surrounded the mosque while negotiations brought the stand-off to a peaceful end. Instead they launched an onslaught after exchanging fire over several hours against the militants holed up in the mosque after they raided a checkpoint.
In a five-to-one ruling of its panel it also criticised the use of grenades and said the force employed was "disproportionate".
"The tactic of laying siege to the mosque, surrounding it with security personnel in tandem with the use of negotiation with the militants, could have ultimately led to their surrender," said the summary.
"The resolution of the crisis at the Krue Se mosque through peaceful means would have been more appropriate and better served the interests of the security personnel than the use of force." However the committee said there were mitigating factors for the "perceived excesses" including a belief the militants had heavier and more dangerous weaponry.
The inquiry team called for compensation for those killed and injured as a first step to reconciliation in Thailand. "Implementing these measures should also help promote Thailand's image in the eyes of the international community as a country of justice and humanity," its report said.
The government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has also been condemned by the international community over its "war" on drugs that saw more than 2,000 people killed in 2003.
Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkhair said the report summary was made public so the public knew that troops "lacking experience and insight" were behind the raid.
He said the government would offer unspecified compensation to the families of the 32 dead insurgents and the three members of the security forces killed in clashes at the mosque.
"The government will pay compensation in money and assistance to both sides killed at the mosque but it cannot be expressed in financial terms since some would be offered in scholarships," said the spokesman.
The four-page summary revealed the militants were led to believe they could be protected by their faith and by using "cursed sand" to make roads look like the sea. The summary was released after a cabinet meeting to analyse the report by a committee headed by a former judge. It was not immediately clear if the government was to release the other 28 pages.
Five bombs went off Tuesday including one that injured three soldiers waiting to escort teachers to school in the southern province of Yala.
The other four appeared to be co-ordinated blasts targeting mainly council buildings in the neighbouring province of Narathiwat. Nobody was injured or killed.
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