Rebels agree cease-fire

On 17 July 2008 a group claiming to represent Islamic rebel groups active in southern Thailand announced that the rebels have decided to observe a unilateral cease-fire. A rebel spokesman stated that the decision follows a year of negotiation between 11 rebel groups, whose attacks over the past four years have killed more than 3,000 people in Thailand's predominately Muslim southern provinces bordering Malaysia. However, authorities remain skeptical over the apparent cease-fire and have not ruled out the possibility that the announcement is a hoax. Because there has never been a public leader of the rebel groups, authorities doubt the amount of influence the announcement will have over the entire movement. The only way to know for sure if the announcement is legitimate, authorities state, is if the attacks stop.