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| Southeast Asia |
| Jihadis kill four, escalate violence in Southern Thailand |
| 2006-11-04 |
| Southern extremists have murdered three Buddhists and a Muslim in four more apparently random drive-by shootings in the three insurgency wracked provinces of the South. In a separate development, extremists shot a teacher couple and their daughter in Yala, and set four nearby schools on fire. The family were in critical condition after surgery. The night and morning of violence followed the apology by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont for government pressure, and continues the escalation of violence since the military coup nearly seven weeks ago. Suspected Islamic militants shot dead a 25-year-old Muslim man at a local school in Yala province. Also in Yala, a 22-year-old Buddhist woman was gunned down at a local health office late Friday in a drive-by shooting, while another 43-year-old Buddhist man was shot dead by suspected militants when he drove a motorcycle. His wife was also injured in the attack. In neighbouring Pattani, a 45-year-old Muslim villager was shot dead at his house late Friday, police said, adding that two security guards at a hotel in Pattani were also shot and wounded in still another shooting. The fresh attacks follow new efforts by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to bring peace to the South, where more than 1,700 people have been killed since the latest insurgency broke out in January 2004. Gen Surayud, who was installed by the military following the bloodless coup of Sept 19, apologised this week to Muslims for the government's failure to quell the long-running insurgency. He has also vowed to hold peace talks with militants, although no one has claimed so far to be a leader of the insurgents. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #5 Is anyone surprised by this turn of events? [crickets] |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-11-04 14:15 |
| #4 the latest coup is a failure, unless the intention was to encourage jihadists |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2006-11-04 10:40 |
| #3 I'll give it 6 months before another coup to bring back Thaksin. He wasn't so hot, as I recollect. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-11-04 09:55 |
| #2 Mo'hamed Mo problems. Quarantine Islam. |
| Posted by: Elmeatle Thereger7030 2006-11-04 06:41 |
| #1 I'll give it 6 months before another coup to bring back Thaksin. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-11-04 03:57 |