For more details on this topic, see South Thailand insurgency.
Historically, Pattani Province was the centre of the Sultanate of Patani, a semi-independent Malay kingdom that paid tribute to the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell under Burmese control in 1767, the Sultanate of Patani gained full independence, but under King Rama I (reigned from 1782 to 1809), the area was again placed under Siam's control in 1785 and made a Mueang. (See the main entry on the Sultanate of Patani.) In 1808, the Mueang Pattani was split into seven smaller Mueang including Yala.[2]
The province was recognized as part of Siam by the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, negotiated with the British Empire, while Siam surendered its claims to Kelantan, Kedah, Terengganu and Perlis. There is a small separatist movement in Yala, which after being dormant for many years, emerged again in 2004 and has recently become increasingly violent. Eight bombs exploded in the province over two days, on 6 and 7 April 2014. The bombings resulted in one death and 28 injuries, as well as damage to a warehouse estimated at about THB100 million. Local officials accordingly tightened security in the province during the Songkran festivities scheduled for 13 to 15 April.[3] The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2014 advised its citizens to only undertake essential travel in the province, while the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recommends that travellers completely avoid the province.[4][5]