YALA, Thailand (AFP) — Four people, including a police officer, have been shot dead in suspected separatist attacks in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, as the holy month of Ramadan began, police said Monday.
The 43-year-old border patrol police officer was shot dead late on Sunday afternoon in Pattani, one of three provinces plagued by four years of separatist unrest that has left more than 3,400 dead, police said.
A 52-year-old Buddhist woman and a 49-year-old Muslim man were also killed in drive-by shootings early Monday in Pattani, they added.
In nearby Yala, a 50-year-old Muslim village leader was shot dead on Sunday evening.
The spate of killings came as southern Thailand began observing Ramadan, the month when the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset.
The month is normally a festive time of lavish nightly feasts, holiday treats, and family reunions, but has turned into a more discreet affair in recent years with many afraid to leave their homes after dark.
The latest unrest erupted in January 2004, but tensions have simmered for more than a century, since Thailand annexed the mainly ethnic Malay sultanate in 1902.
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