Two people slain in Thailand south

Two people slain in Thailand south

THAILAND: Suspected militants fatally shot a former policeman and a police mechanic on Wednesday in southern Thailand, where an outburst of violence blamed mostly on separatists has claimed hundreds of lives since January.

Sattaporn Klampop, a police mechanic, and retired police Capt. Charuk Suwannasathien, died after attackers raked their Land Rover with gunfire at a fruit orchard in Narathiwat province's Rangae district, police Capt. Deja Lertdeja said.

The victims, both from Bangkok, were picking up an order of langsat fruit when an unknown number of attackers, with at least one automatic rifle, shot at their vehicle. It was unclear why the victims were in Narathiwat.

Authorities have blamed separatists for a recent spate of bombings and shootings in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala provinces -- the only largely Muslim areas in Thailand, which is overwhelmingly Buddhist.

More than 360 people have died since January in a surge of violence that some officials believe is the work of a revived insurgency. Separatists operated on a large scale in the area for decades before largely disappearing after a government amnesty in the 1980s.

Southern Thai Muslims have long complained about discrimination, mainly in jobs and education. -- AP