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Published on August 27, 2007

 A fierce gunfight in this remote village ended in the death of three suspected insurgents and one soldier conducting house-to-house searches.

Harong Salah shot Private Suriyan Thongpom in the head at close range as the soldier entered his home, officials at the scene said.

Evidence suggested the soldier had been dragged into a bedroom where he was stripped of his assault rifle and ammunition. These were later used against soldiers.

Soldiers and suspected militants exchanged sporadic gunfire for about half an hour before insurgents attempted to flee.

Harong and another man, identified as Muslim Masan, were shot dead while escaping.

A third man, Wae-useng Lohsatae, the subject of an arrest warrant, died inside the house during the gunfight. Harong's wife, Demoh, suffered gunshot wounds to the legs.

Authorities detained two other villagers. It was not clear if they were associated with the deceased, but residents said only Harong was a member of the village.

The clash highlighted uncertainties faced by soldiers and police when conducting searches.

 In the past two months, as many as 500 suspects have been arrested and detained at military camps in the upper South. Those deemed sympathetic to rebels are forced to undergo four-month courses deterring them from joining the insurgency.

As of Saturday, 357 suspects remained in detention at four military camps in Pattani, Songkhla and Yala.

This strategy has been criticised by human-rights activists who said the raids produced negative consequences.

"It's illegal because there is no existing law to legitimise the four-month detention," said Pornpen Khongkachornkiet, a rights advocate who helped organise a public forum in Pattani yesterday.

"These round-ups have a negative impact on the livelihoods of the communities, as well as being a setback for the rule of law.

"We question the entire strategy, including the current four-month detention of more than 500 villagers."

Separately, but in the same district of Yala, Sari Koseng was shot dead in front of his home at about 6am yesterday, police said without revealing details.

In neighbouring Narathi-wat, more than 200 military and police searched 18 locations in Rusoh district, taking into custody eight suspects. One man was the subject of an arrest warrant. They were transferred to a military camp in Pattani for questioning.

The raid was another in Operation South Protection, which kicked off two months ago to combat militant cells responsible for deep South violence.

Don Pathan

The Nation

BAN SI SE, YALA