| BANGKOK: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed yesterday to purge southern Thailand of illegal war weapons being used daily in deadly attacks. Four Buddhists - one a young student - were killed in the latest outburst of violence, police said. Thaksin said he would travel today to the southern province of Narathiwat, scene of some of the most intense rebel activity, to personally supervise the operation. "I will have to launch a massive crackdown on weapons. We will use both a soft approach and an iron fist to sweep out these people. Innocent people don't have to fear or worry," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address. In an apparent spate of revenge killings, suspected Muslim separatists have targeted ordinary Buddhists, including monks, shopkeepers and students, following the deaths of 85 Muslims on October 25 in a riot broken up by government forces. |