A police officer was gunned down and a defense volunteer injured in Pattani province yesterday as neighboring Narathiwat province was put on high alert on the 10th anniversary of the outbreak of the southern insurgency.Pol Snr Sgt Maj Marosae Muna was shot and killed yesterday morning while sitting in a tea shop. Two men on a motorcycle showed up and one walked up to the officer and fired three shots at him. He died at the scene.
Defense volunteer Isma-el Masae, who was sitting nearby, was injured by a stray bullet. The gunman took the officer's pistol and fled.
Meanwhile, officials across in the far south were on full alert for possible unrest on the 10th anniversary of the start of the insurgency yesterday. Security was particularly high in Narathiwat, where a robbery at an army base on Jan 4, 2004, marked the beginning of the insurgency.