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Bomb kills two police, teacher shot in Thai south
A bomb killed two policemen and a Buddhist teacher was shot dead Tuesday in the latest surge of violence in Thailand's rebellious Muslim south. The bomb hidden in a motorcycle wounded two other officers outside a police station in Pattani, one of three southernmost provinces near the Malaysian border where roughly 3,500 people have died in five years of unrest. Police said the device hidden under the seat was triggered by a cellphone when officers went to look at the motorcycle left in front of the building. In neighboring Yala province, a female teacher was killed in a drive-by shooting as she travelled to work, police said. The latest incidents occurred as Thailand's army chief, General Anupong Paochinda, was due to chair a meeting in Bangkok of army commanders from the three restive provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. Thirty-one people have been killed and more than 50 injured in the region over the past 11 days, with police, soldiers, teachers, laborers and Buddhist monks among the victims. The region's Buddhist minority has borne the brunt of the attacks since a June 8 shooting at a Narathiwat mosque, where unknown gunmen killed 10 Muslims at prayer and wounded 12 more. No arrests have been made following the incident, which angry Muslim residents blamed on security forces. The military has denied involvement and says Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed not to use military force to tackle the unrest and promised development aid to raise living standards in one of Thailand's poorest regions. The government planned to invest heavily in tourism, fisheries and rubber and palm oil industries, Abhisit said on Sunday. Posted by: ryuge 2009-06-16 |
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