In Pattani's Sai Buri district, mechanic Bancha Kongkaew, 30, was critically injured while riding his motorbike to work in the early morning. Two gunmen approached Bancha from behind on a motorcycle and shot him with a .38 pistol. One bullet grazed his right ear and he was taken to a local hospital.

At about the same time, a similar attack took place in Saba Yoi district of Songkhla.

Police Sgt-Major Manoon Mudlah, 52, was seriously injured by two gunmen on his way to work.

Two people on a motorcycle approached Manoon, who was parking his motorbike in front of Saba Yoi fresh market to catch a bus to Muang district, and opened fire with a 9mm pistol.

Police suspect Muslim militants were behind both attacks.

Meanwhile, caretaker Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamong-khon yesterday said the fate of 130 Thai "refugees" would have to be handled by the next government.

Kantathi, who has just returned from Ubud, Indonesia, where he attended an Asean Ministerial Meeting, said a meeting between the Thai and Malaysian prime ministers scheduled for next month would have to be postponed because Thailand had yet to form a government after the April 2 election.

He said the soonest a bilateral meeting could be arranged would be in July.

The group of 131 people crossed into Malaysia in August last year, reportedly fearing persecution by Thai security forces fighting insurgents in the restive South. Last December, one of the 131 people - who had a bounty on his head - was handed over to Thai authorities.

The rest remain in Malaysia.