Villager Allegedly Attacked By Militants

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Villager allegedly attacked by militants in deep south

PATTANI, Nov. 17 (TNA) - A villager was allegedly shot by militants Wednesday morning and died from gunshot wounds later in a hospital in the violence-ridden Pattani Province, said local police.

Pol. Maj. Anant Keawmanee, an investigator from Yah Ring District Police Station, identified the assaulted villager as 47-year-old Mr. Noi Kaewamphai.

The man took four bullets into his torso and arms. He was critically injured and rushed to the Pattani Hospital by witnesses. He died later from gunshot wounds. Police found a spent case of .38 bullet at the scene.

''From questioning witnesses in the area, they said the victim was riding his motorcycle back from dropping his mother off at a nearby village. He was chased after by two men on a motorbike who fired at him with a pistol,'' said the police investigator.

Police suspected the shooting might have related the ongoing violence by militants even though they have not dismissed the personal conflict.

''This spot has been considered dangerous as there have been a number of attacks against both villagers and officials carried out here, including gun robbing,'' said the investigator.

The attack came hours after Her Majesty Queen Sirikit made a public appeal for an end to the violence in the country's Muslim dominant deep south on Tuesday night. The queen spoke from a palace in Bangkok but her address was broadcast on television nationwide.

Thailand has faced a tide of violence related to an insurgency since early this year in three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. More than 500 people have been killed. The security situation has exasperated after an army crackdown on protesters in Tak Bai in Narathiwat Province in which 85 Muslims died.(TNA)-E110