As Thailand lurches from one political crisis to the next, the separatist rebellion in the country's south has largely escaped international attention despite assassinations, bombings and the occasional pitched battle that have changed the lives of millions of people.
However, with Thailand yesterday marking the fifth anniversary of the conflict, the bloodshed has prompted a major rethink among authorities who previously dismissed the attacks as random acts of violence carried out by bandits or a handful of disgruntled Islamic militants.
Previous attempts to play down the carnage rankled western governments. What they see is another battleground in the global 'war on terror', with the conflict in southern Thailand a persistent threat to regional security.
On January 4, 2004, a deadly attack on an army base killed four soldiers in the south and set off a tough military response.
Only now, however, do Thai police agree that the separatist movement is a well-structured organisation consisting of five related groups operating across four provinces - Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat - where 6 million Muslims live.
The identity of the leaders remains obscure - although the National Revolutionary Front-Coordinate, which can be traced back to the 1960s, has held the highest profile among southern separatist movements and may form the overarching organisation.