http://www.thenews.com.pk/update_detail.asp?id=12483
Four shot dead in Thailand's restive south YALA: Four people were shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand's violence-torn south, police said Tuesday a day ahead of a peace-building visit to the troubled region by the new premier. A 42-year-old Muslim man was killed by militants in a drive-by shooting late Tuesday in Narathiwat, one of three southern provinces where nearly 1,600 people have been killed since the latest insurgency broke out in January 2004. In neighboring Yala province, a 47-year-old male Buddhist teacher was gunned down in another drive-by shooting as he drove a motorcycle. Earlier in the day, a 43-year-old Buddhist man was shot dead on his way to work in Pattani, while a 36-year-old Muslim school janitor was shot dead by two suspected militants in Narathiwat as he drove a motorcycle to work. The fresh violence came after a bloody weekend in which at least six people were killed and nine wounded in a string of shootings and bomb attacks in the restive Muslim-majority south bordering Malaysia. Deadly attacks continued to rock the region despite Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's resolve to bring peace to the troubled south and his apology for the government's mistakes in dealing with the nearly three-year conflict. Surayud, who was installed by the military after the September coup that ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has also sought to hold peace talks with militants, a reversal of Thaksin's heavy-handed policies widely blamed for worsening the bloodshed. Meanwhile, a five kilogram (11 pound) remotely-triggered bomb exploded at a railway station aimed at a nearby military camp in Yala on Tuesday, police said, but adding that no one was injured. Late Monday in Yala, suspected separatist insurgents set fire to a school, police said, which followed suspected arson attacks during the weekend that gutted three school and partially damaged another in the province. Thirty-five schools remained closed across Yala province, and a further 14 closed Tuesday in the wake of the fresh violence, officials said. "Local security commanders have not decided when to reopen the schools," said Adinan Takbara, a regional education head in Yala. "They were closed for the safety of the students and the teachers." Surayud will on Wednesday visit Yala where he will meet university students and teachers in an effort to promote trust and reconciliation between Muslim locals and the authorities. The Muslim-majority south was an independent sultanate annexed by mainly Buddhist Thailand in 1902. Separatist violence has erupted periodically ever since. The almost daily violence has been variously blamed on ethnic Malay separatists, Islamic extremists and criminal gangs. Local government officials, police, military and Buddhists are often targeted by Islamic militants but Muslims seen as sympathetic to the government, are also attacked. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
