Thailand extends state of emergency in south

BANGKOK —Thailand’s government has extended a long-established state of emergency in three southern provinces plagued by a Muslim insurgency

Deputy government spokesman Anusorn Eiamsa-ard says Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s Cabinet approved a 90-day extension of the state of emergency on Tuesday.

First enacted in 2005, the decree gives security forces special powers of arrest and detention in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

Human Rights groups have criticized the decree for deepening mistrust of the security forces among public.

More than 4,700 people have been killed in the region since the insurgency flared up in 2004.