GUNMEN in southern Thailand killed on Wednesday three Muslim men, including a religious teacher, shortly after they met military officials at an army base, police said.
More than 4,300 people, both Muslims and Buddhists, have been killed in Thailand's deep south bordering Malaysia in six years of unrest blamed on Muslim separatist insurgents.
The gunmen ambushed a van carrying the religious teacher and two Muslim politicians in Narathiwat province, said Police Major Colonel Chaitat Intanoojit. All three of the men, who had just left a regular meeting with military officials at a base, were killed, he said.
The rubber-rich provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were part of a Muslim sultanate annexed a century ago by predominantly Buddhist Thailand. About 80 per cent of the people in the poor region are Muslim and speak a Malay dialect.
The violence has ranged from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheadings. The targets are often Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers
source : http://www.abna.ir
