The Thai prime minister fired his agriculture and defense ministers on Oct. 5 following their failures to beat the countrys bird flu crisis and settle the political unrest in the Muslim-dominated south.

This is PM Thaksin Shinawatras 10th reshuffle since he took office in 2001, coming just a few months ahead of a general election expected early next year.

In the latest reshuffle, PM Thaksin appointed General Sumpan Boonyanun as defense minister to replace Chettha Thanajaro, while Deputy Premier Wan Muhammad Nor Matha was named agriculture minister, taking over from Somsak Thepsutin.

In March, Mr. Wan Muhamad, the new agriculture minister, had been moved from a previous post as interior minister during another reshuffle, for his failure to stem the violence in the south.

“These cabinet changes were aimed at tackling both bird flu and unrest in the south and I will personally supervise the security issue,” Mr. Thaksin told the press in Bangkok after the announcement of the shuffle.

Bird flu has so far taken 11 lives in Thailand this year, while violence in three Muslim-majority provinces in southern Thailand has reportedly led to the deaths of at least 300 people.

Source: BBC, Bloomberg Compiled by Hieu Trung.