Thai police chief links China's Uygur minority to Bangkok bomb for the first time

Thailand’s police chief on Tuesday linked the Bangkok bomb to China’s Uygur minority, the first time he has referenced the ethnic group after weeks of skirting around their possible involvement in the attack.

The August 17 bombing killed 20 people, among them seven from Hong Kong and mainland China, raising the possibility of a link to militants or supporters of the Uygurs, an ethnic group who say they face heavy persecution in China.

A month earlier Thailand had forcibly deported more than 100 Uygur refugees to China, sparking international condemnation as well as violent protests in Turkey, where nationalist hardliners see the minority as part of a global Turkic-speaking family.

Read more: Beijing rejects ‘hugely irresponsible’ speculation that Uygur militants were behind Bangkok bombing

Police however blame a gang of people smugglers for the attack, motivated by revenge for a crackdown on their lucrative trade through Thailand, a motive which has been widely dismissed by security experts.

“The cause was the human trafficking networks -- networks transferring Uygurs from one country to another. Thai authorities destroyed or obstructed their human trafficking businesses,” Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters on Tuesday, explaining the apparent motive for the attack.

It was the first time Thai police have formally referenced the Uygurs in relation to the case, after issuing a retraction of a mention of the group over the weekend. 

Analysts say Thailand is keen to avoid naming Uygurs for economic and diplomatic reasons.