The Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Pattani (BRN), or National Revolutionary Front.

The BRN nationalist/separatist group operates in the southern Muslim-dominated provinces of Thailand -- particularly Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. BRN stages operations from northern Malaysia.

BRN's goal is to bring about the secession of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, and perhaps Satun and Songkhla (Thailand's five southernmost provinces), to create an independent Malay Republic of Pattani.

The BRN is a member of the umbrella Bersatu group (see separate record). The BRN's military wing, the BRN Congress, has an estimated strength of 150-300 members. This faction is said to be one of the most active and best-armed insurgent groups in the region. The political BRN Coordinate wing is estimated to have as many as 1,000 members. Coordinate members are spread throughout southern villages, organized into cells.

An important base of support for Bersatu separatists in Thailand is neighboring Malaysia, which is used as a sanctuary and refuge for regrouping. Many Bersatu members share a common culture and religion and family connections across the border. The Malaysian government does not strenuously pursue suspected Bersatu militants on its territory, though it does provide some cooperation on security issues with Thailand.
 
In part due to its socialist/communist sympathies, the BRN is believed to rely more on criminal activities (racketeering, extortion and the smuggling of narcotics, contraband, people and weapons) than fundraising from Muslims abroad, as compared to some other Thai separatist groups.
 
The BRN is allied with the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO). In the 1980s, PULO and the BRN Congress conducted joint terrorist operations.

Bersatu member groups, including BRN, have conducted their low-intensity insurgency against the Thai government since 2004, though other attacks date to 2001 and even earlier. The BRN mainly conducts arson, sabotage and assassinations. The small but active group has access to rifles, pistols and basic bomb-making equipment.
 
Groups including PULO and BRN run some small training camps in remote jungle regions, teaching insurgents and terrorists ambush tactics as well as small-arms and bomb-making techniques. Bersatu-related groups commonly attack symbols of government authority, such as security forces, administrative buildings and transportation links. The BRN has been known to offer US$2,000 bounties for killing policemen. Many attacks have also focused on Buddhists in southern Thailand, schools and teachers.
 
The larger Coordinate faction of the BRN (BRN-C) seems to be attempting to build a mass organization, while employing an organzation of cells to defend against counterterrorism tactics. About 70 percent of southern villages are estimated to have at least one cell of between five and 10 members.

The BRN was founded by Ustadz Haji Abdul Karim Hassan (also known as Abdul Karim Hassan or Ustadz Karim) on March 13, 1963, as a splinter group of Barisan Nasional Pembe-Basan Pattani (BNPP). The BRN adopted a more socialist ideology than its Islamic progenitor, the BNPP. The group's ideology espoused Islamic-socialism and it encouraged cooperation with communist parties and groups. The difficulty of incorporating Islam, nationalism and socialism into a coherent ideology resulted in considerable splintering among BRN factions.
 
In the 1960s and 1970s, BRN maintained close ties with the communist parties in Malaysia and Thailand. The BRN had a close relationship with the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), but serious cooperation probably ended when the CPM ceased its military campaign in 1989. At the same time, the BRN also reached out to Muslims in Algeria, Syria and Libya.
 
The BRN divided into three factions in the 1980s: the BRN Congress (a military wing led by Jekupeng Bursao aka Rosa Buraso), the BRN Coordinate (a political wing that, according to some sources, discontinued operations in Thailand to pursue political activities in Malaysia) and the BRN Uram (a semi-religious faction). Ustadz Haji Abdul Karim Hassan led the Uram faction until his death.
 
The BRN Congress and BRN Uram are believed to be inactive.
 
While some sources allege that BRN-C abandoned activities in Thailand, other Southeast Asia specialists maintain that the BRN-C may be the largest organization in the Thai insurgency. It has given birth to its own splinter groups, the Pemuda student organization and the Runda Kumpalan Kecil (RKK).
 
There is evidence that the Coordinate branch is attempting to develop a mass organization, rooted in schools that funnel 10 percent of its members into paramilitary operations. Its Pemuda ("youth") student group apparently acts as a recruitment force.
 
Current Coordinate leaders are drawn from secular teachers and ustadz (religious teachers) in about 18 different schools: Thamawittiya Foundation School in Yala, Samphan Wittaya School, Jihad Wittaya School and Pattana Islam. Teachers at these schools have been arrested with weapons, bomb-making materials and instructional videos. Known BRN-C leaders include: Afghan-trained Masae Useng, Sapaeng Basoe, Abdullah Munir, Dulloh Waeman (Ustadz Loh), Abroseh Parehruepoh, Abdulkanin Kalupang, Isma-ae Toyalong, Arduenan Mama, Bororting Binbuerheng and Yusuf Rayalong (Ustadz Ismae-ae).
 
The current chairman of the BRN is Yalan Abdul Rahman.

A stronger military presence in late 2007 helped reduce unrest in southern Thailand in 2008, but the level of violence rose again the following year. Between 2004 and 2007, there were about 1,800 incidents annually, spiking at nearly 2,200 in 2005. The number dropped dramatically in 2008 to 821, then rose to 1,035 in 2009.

The government also stepped up economic assistance in the south. BRN and other groups now decline to announce responsibility for violent incidents.

1963
March: BRN founded by Ustadz Haji Abdul Karim Hassan. The group developed a vaguely socialist ideology, contrasting with its more Islamic parent group, the BNPP.
 
1984
BRN split into the BRN Congress, BRN Coordinate and BRN Uram. The BRN Congress was led by Jekupeng Bursao and focused on military struggle. The BRN Coordinate pursued political support in schools and mosques under the leadership of Haji M, becoming the strongest of the three splinters.
 
1989
Aug. 31: Payong Organization was founded, uniting the PULO, BRN, BNPP and GMIP under central leadership.
 
1991
The Payong Organization was renamed Bersatu.
 
1992
The BRN-C founded the student organization Pemuda to help recruit new members and build a grassroots organization.
 
1997
July: After the Asian economic crisis hit Thailand, Bersatu was able to gain traction among discontented Muslims in the southern part of the country.
 
2004
Jan. 4: Bersatu-connected separatists increased their attacks. Security officials in Thailand charged PULO, BRN and perhaps other groups with coordinating attacks on schools, police posts and an army base.
 
Jan. 5: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared martial law in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces. Defense Minister Thamarak Isarangura authorized Lt. Gen. Phongsak Aekbansingha to place six districts in Narathiwat, three districts in Yala and four districts in Pattani under martial law.
 
2005
April 8: Jekupeng Bursao died of natural causes in Malaysia. At the time of his death, a reward worth 1 million bhat (US$26,000) was offered for his capture.
 
April: Government officials claimed three top BRN members died in the first quarter of 2005 in Malaysia: Jekupeng Bursao, former chair of the BRN's military wing, the BRN Congress; Waehama Luboyaseng "Pohma Sungaibatu," a BRN armed forces chief; and Maraseng Luksingto, former BRN militant forces chief. 
 
October: Representatives from the five main Muslim insurgent groups in Thailand met secretly with senior Thai military and intelligence officers in Langkawi, Malaysia, to develop a peace plan for southern Thailand. The conference was mediated by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as well as members of his Perdana Global Peace Organization non-governmental organization.
 
November: The insurgency-related death toll, since ramped-up violence began in January 2004, reached 1,000.
 
2006
Sept. 19: Military leaders staged a bloodless coup, ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
 
Dec. 21: Talks between military officials and insurgents (begun in 2005) were reported to be stuck over the creation of an independent tribunal to try army officers for alleged human-rights violations and the granting of amnesty to all insurgents. There were also reports suggesting that new talks would be held in Brunei.
 
Dec. 23: Army Chief of Staff Montri Sangkhasap said the service would deploy an additional 10 companies of paratroopers to Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Songkhla and Satun in January 2007, and 20 more companies in April, to combat the southern insurgency.
 
2007
October: The Thai army changed its command structure in the south. The four southern states wre divided among the army's four regional commands. Previously, the Fourth Region had been in charge of the entire southern area.
 
Oct. 31: The Thai army announced plans to increase the number of troops deployed in the south. At the time, about 30,000 were already deployed.
 
Dec. 23: Thailand held new parliamentary elections: The military junta disbanded shortly thereafter.
 
2008
May 9: Police discovered that more than 20 power pylons in Yala were missing their stabilizing bolts. Security sources said that BRN and Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) militants planned to make the power pylons collapse, then attack government offices and water reservoirs in the ensuing power outage.

2009
March 11: Former Thai Prime Minister Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh visited Thailand's "Deep South" area where most of the violent activity was centered. He offered to grant three southern provinces -- Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat -- a greater measure of self-determination through the creation of an independent governing zone, dubbed Pattani City.

Nov. 14: Leaders of three insurgent organizations responded positively to the proposed establishment of Pattani City. A source familiar with the militants said the extremist groups had promised to cease their attacks if allowed to participate in local administration. Thai Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam said Gen. Chavalit was simply promoting his own political ambitions.

Oct. 6: Two people were killed and 35 others were injured in attacks in Sungai Kolok, a town near the border with Malaysia. Suspected BRN militants riding on a motorcycle fired guns and threw a homemade bomb at a group of people in a restaurant, killing a policeman and a civilian, and injuring 12 others. Shortly thereafter, a bomb hidden in a car exploded outside a hotel, injuring 23 people. No group claimed responsibility.

2010
Jan. 7: Militants killed one security officer and wounded another in a bomb attack during a visit to Thailand's southern region by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Abhisit's government initiated a five-year US$1.9-billion stimulus program.

Jan. 14: Prime Minister Vejjajiva contended there was a "clear change" and "clear progress" in the government's approach in the south.

April 1: Militants killed six Buddhist villagers in Narathiwat province. BRN insurgents were suspected of ambushing the villagers. Two bodies were recovered in a pick-up truck and four others were found in a nearby forest. A roadside bomb then injured ten policemen and soldiers as they were responding to the shootings.