15th Infantry Division (Thailand)
The 15th Infantry Divistion (Thai: กองพลทหารราบที่ 15) (พล.ร.๑๕.) is an infantry division of the Royal Thai Army, it is currently a part of the Fourth Army Area. The unit is composed of the 151st Infantry Regiment, 152nd Infantry Regiment and 153rd Infantry Regiment and Service Support Regiment. The division engaged in the South Thailand insurgency.
15th Infantry Division | |
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กองพลทหารราบที่ 15 | |
![]() Unit insignia | |
Active | April 1st 2007–present |
Country | Thailand |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Light infantry |
Role | Light infantry |
Size | Light infantry Division |
Part of | Fourth Army Area |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Ingkhayutthaborihan, Nong Chik, Pattani, Thailand |
Engagements | |
Website | http://www.infantry-division15.com/Inf_Dev15.html(in Thai) |
History
Southern insurgency (2001–ongoing)
The ongoing southern insurgency had begun in response to Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram's 1944 National Cultural Act, which replaced the use of Malaya in the region's schools with the Thai language and also abolished the local Islamic courts in the three ethnic Malay and Muslim majority border provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat.[1] However, it had always been on a comparatively small scale. The insurgency intensified in 2001, during the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Terrorist attacks were now extended to the ethnic Thai minority in the provinces.[2] The Royal Thai Armed Forces also went beyond their orders and retaliated with strong armed tactics that only encouraged more violence.[3] By the end of 2012 the conflict had claimed 3,380 lives, including 2,316 civilians, 372 soldiers, 278 police, 250 suspected insurgents, 157 education officials, and seven Buddhist monks. Many of the dead were Muslims themselves, but they had been targeted because of their presumed support of the Thai government.[4]
Organization
15th Infantry Division Headquarters
- 15th Infantry Division
- 151st Infantry Regiment
- 1st Infantry Battalion
- 2nd Infantry Battalion
- 3rd Infantry Battalion
- 152nd Infantry Regiment
- 1st Infantry Battalion
- 2nd Infantry Battalion
- 3rd Infantry Battalion
- 153rd Infantry Regiment
- 1st Infantry Battalion
- 2nd Infantry Battalion
- 3rd Infantry Battalion
- Support Regiment
- Logistic and Service Battalion
- Maintenance Battalion
- Medical Battalion
- 15th Combat Engineer Battalion
- 31st Cavalry Squadron
- 15th Signal Corp Battalion
- 151st Infantry Regiment
See also
- 1st Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 2nd Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 3rd Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 4th Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 5th Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 7th Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 9th Infantry Division (Thailand)
- 11th Infantry Division (Thailand)
- Royal Thai Marine Corps
- King's Guard (Thailand)
- Royal Thai Army
- Thai Royal Guards parade
References
- Patani
- Search – Global Edition – The New York Times Archived 18 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. International Herald Tribune (29 March 2009). Retrieved on 2012-01-18.
- Thailand's counter-insurgency operations Archived 3 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Janes.com (19 November 2007). Retrieved on 2012-01-18.
- Data from the (governmental) Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, cited in ISRANews Archived 1 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine report, 4 January 2013