Separatists target Thai security officials

Two security volunteers have been shot dead and a village chief wounded as deadly violence continued in Thailand’s deep south.

A number of schools have been destroyed in recent violent

Police confirmed on Sunday the victims wereshot and killed in separate assaults in southernmost Yala province.

Armed men on motorcycles killed Da-O Mango and Hama Manusae, shooting them repeatedly.

Both men were described as volunteers assisting with security operations in the troubled region, where 65 people have died in a wave of violence since January.
  
Also on Saturday evening, village headman Somsak Tangkin was shot four times outside his home in Pattani province. He was being treated in hospital.

Investigation

Local police said they had already begun investigating the murders, but as yet did not know who was responsible for the attacks.
  
Arsonists also burned down another school in Pattani overnight, adding to the 15 schools torched on Thursday.
  
Southern Thailand has been rocked by unrest this year, with near-daily attacks which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and others have blamed on Islamist and separatist groups.

Source: AFP