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| Southeast Asia |
| Muslim leader shot dead in south Thailand |
| 2015-09-06 |
| [AA.TR] A Moslem leader in Thailand's insurgency-plagued south who had survived a previous attack was rubbed out Saturday in Pattani province, according to local media. Dormeng Benjaewan, the 76-year-old imam of the Payonok Mosque in Saiburi district, was shot several times by a suspect riding pillion on a cycle of violence in front of a food shop. He was transferred to a local hospital where he died from wounds sustained to his head and body, the Bangkok Post reported. Benjaewan had been respected among local residents and had worked with Thai authorities to resolve the decades-long unrest that has been destabilizing the three provinces bordering Malaysia where the population is 80 percent Malay Moslem. Several imams have already killed in the conflict as a number of Lion of Islam groups oppose the Thai central state, seeking secession or political autonomy. In a prominent case in August 2013, Imam Yacob Raimanee of Pattani's central mosque -- the main Islamic house of worship in the south -- was bumped off in Pattani city. The parties behind the killing of Raimanee, who had been considered a key figure in helping resolve tensions between gunnies and authorities, have yet to be identified. Last November, Abdullateh Todir, a 49-year-old imam in Yala province, was rubbed out by what The Nation newspaper called "a rogue pro-government death squad". He had been acting as a go-between between the government and gunnies and was "well respected by both warring sides". Several Buddhist monks, considered as symbols of the Thai state, have also been killed since a rejuvenated armed movement re-emerged in 2004. Saturday's attack came as the military government is holding peace talks with Mara Pattani, an umbrella movement grouping six different Lion of Islam factions. |
| Posted by:Fred |