The murder of a respected Islamic teacher in Pattani province on Tuesday night was an act of terrorist behavior, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) said Wednesday. Awae Tohsatu had contributed greatly to the restoration of peace in the far South and his death is greatly lamented, said Col Pramote Phrom-in in his capacity as ISOC spokesman.
Awae, a teacher at Ponoh Padaela-nga School, was gunned down about 9:30pm as he left a mosque with his family after prayers in Nong Chik district. Police said they will look into what may have prompted the killing as the victim had a number of important roles in education, religion and peace-building.
Pramote said the teacher was a key figure in local religious circles who adhered to the tenets of Islam and helped the government create better understanding with local people as well as convincing insurgents to defect. Awae had also served as a justice adviser to ISOC's southern command since 2007, and declared himself against all forms of insurgent violence, the spokesman said. The teacher's murder was an act of "extreme, dictatorial and terrorist behavior", he added.
According to the victim's wife, she and Awae were heading home from prayers with their son when the attack took place. The family lived in the school compound about 30 meters from the mosque.
Continued on Page 47
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
