Violence in the deep South leaves seven dead

A joint patrol of more than 20 police and soldiers was ambushed on a road in the Bannang Sata district, sparking a five-minute gunbattle, said Bannang Sata police Colonel Sompien Todsomya.

After the attackers fled, government forces pursued and found one insurgent dead about 100 metres from the road, he said.

A second clash occurred in the jungle, leaving two insurgents dead, the colonel added.

The government troops pursued the insurgents again, leading to a third shootout in the jungle that claimed another four suspected separatists and left four soldiers and police wounded, Sompien said.

Meanwhile, in Pattani province, suspected separatists on Monday shot dead a rubber merchant in the Panare district, and villagers discovered the corpse of an unknown man in Yarang, believed to be another victim of violence.

Over the weekend, insurgents wearing military fatigues boarded a government train in Yala, shooting dead three railway employees and one policeman.

Train service in the deep South, which consists of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces, was suspended Monday because of Saturday's attack.

"Troops have been under a lot of pressure by authorities to perform down here, which always leads to more acts of revenge by the insurgents," Sompien said.