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| Southeast Asia |
| Suspected insurgents kill 2 border patrol police in restive southern Thailand( |
| 2006-05-23 |
| Suspected Muslim insurgents fatally shot two border patrol police Tuesday in the latest violence in Thailand's restive south, the regional army chief said. Two market vendors were also hurt in the firing. Two assailants fired at police Sr. Sgt. Maj. Supot Suwanphasit, 49, and Sr. Sgt. Maj. Pradit Thecha, 48, as they were shopping in a market in Yala province's Krong Pinang district, said the southern region army commander, Lt. Gen. Ongkorn Thongprasom. Supot died at the scene, while Pradit was critically injured and died later at a local hospital, Ongkorn said. Stray bullets hit two villagers who worked in the market, he said. Ongkorn said the assailants stole a pistol and an assault rifle from the officers before fleeing the scene. More than 1,300 people have been killed in violence in the south since an Islamic separatist movement flared there in January 2004. The latest violence comes days after a mob of Muslim villagers held two female teachers hostage and severely beat them in Kujing Ruepa village in Narathiwat province's Rangae district. Doctors said one of the hostages, Juling Kamphongmoon, was unlikely to survive the injuries she sustained in the beating. The other hostage suffered less serious injuries. About 200 villagers held the women _ both Buddhist teachers _ hostage for about three hours Friday in a classroom at their school. They demanded the release of two suspected Muslim rebels arrested earlier in the day for allegedly killing two marines. Police have arrested seven suspects over the beating, including the wife of one of the men whose release the mob had been demanding. The country's three southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani are the only Muslim-majority areas in Thailand, which is predominantly Buddhist. |
| Posted by:ryuge |