Three Muslim men shot dead in Thai south: police

NARATHIWAT, November 24, 2010 (AFP) - Suspected Islamic militants shot and killed three Muslim men -- two government officials and a religious leader -- in an ambush on Wednesday in the restive Thai south, police said.

The trio were returning by pick-up truck from a monthly local authority meeting in Narathiwat province when they were chased by insurgents in a similar truck, who opened fire as they overtook the victims' vehicle.

They killed the 45-year-old chairman and a 40-year-old member of a local administrative body as well as a 60-year-old imam, police said.

Rebels have waged a violent rebellion in the mainly Muslim region bordering Malaysia since early 2004, leaving more than 4,300 dead -- both Buddhists and Muslims.

Activists say that while the militants are fighting against the rule of mainly Buddhist Thailand's central government, many Muslims who are considered "traitors" to Islam, for co-operating with Thai authorities, have been killed.

Rights groups also fear a culture of impunity has developed in the area, accusing authorities of abusing their sweeping powers under the emergency rule, first introduced in the region in 2005.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-11-24

Next time when I meet up with the ex-premiere Chuan, I'll surely ask him, what has been done with this daily shameful predicament in the south, his very own backyard so to speak.