Thailand: Two people died and another two were seriously injured in four separate shootings in less than 24 hours in Thailand's restive south, local police said today. A 64-year old Muslim villager was shot dead early today morning while riding his motorbike to work on a rubber plantation in Narathiwat province.
Hours later in another drive-by shooting, a 58-year old Buddhist janitor was slain on his way to work at a school in Pattani province.
Also in Pattani province last evening, a 46-year-old Muslim man was shot on his way home, while a 17-year-old girl was shot while travelling to a market with her family. Both were seriously injured. More than 3,400 people have been killed since separatist unrest erupted four years ago in the south.
Tensions in the region have simmered since Thailand annexed the mainly ethnic Malay sultanate in 1902.
