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| Thailand signs peace talks deal with Muslims militants | Thailand signs peace talks deal with Muslims militants |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Thailand's government has signed its first ever peace talks deal with Muslim rebels aimed at ending a decades-long conflict in the south. | |
| The deal was signed in Malaysia by the National Revolution Front (BRN), one of several groups operating in Thailand. | |
| More than 5,000 people have been killed since the conflict reignited in the Muslim-majority region in 2004. | More than 5,000 people have been killed since the conflict reignited in the Muslim-majority region in 2004. |
| Malaysian PM Najib Razak and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra are to meet in Kuala Lumpur later on Thursday. | Malaysian PM Najib Razak and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra are to meet in Kuala Lumpur later on Thursday. |
| Malaysia has been acting as a facilitator for the negotiations and is likely to host any peace talks. | |
| The document signed in Kuala Lumpur will begin a "dialogue process", said officials. | |
| Correspondents say it marks a major breakthrough in efforts to bring an end to the violence, which has escalated in recent months. | |
| Paradorn Pattanatabutr, secretary general of Thailand's National Security Council said it was "another attempt by the government to tackle the unrest" and did not mean an immediate end to the conflict, Bangkok Post reports. | |
| But Hassan Taib, who signed the document for the BRN, told reporters: "Thank Allah we will do our best to solve the problem. We will tell our people to work together to solve the problems." | |
| The rebels in mostly Muslim southern provinces are fighting to create a breakaway state from the Buddhist-majority Thailand. |