Woma Kalapae, a 52-year-old Muslim officer on the committee that monitors police activities in Panare district, was shot in the face as he drove to market with his wife on a beachside road.

On Friday, Pin Kwandee, 38, and Kanokwan Niboon, 36, were drinking tea together when assailants on two motorbikes sprayed the house they were in with gunfire, killing them both, Police Major Somsak Wannawak, superintendent of Saiburi district, said.

Somsak said investigating authorities had found 15 casings from an assault rifle at the scene of the shooting.

In neighbouring Mayo district, a farmer who was said to be an informant for the military was shot twice in the head as he travelled with his wife to their plantation. The man, whom the authorities refused to identify, was in a critical condition.
Police on Thursday announced that at least 790 people had been killed and 1,200 wounded in 18-months of unrest in the South.

Authorities and analysts have blamed the violence on a mix of Islamic separatists, organised criminals and contraband smugglers.

Meanwhile, Police General Kowit Wattana yesterday ordered a breakdown of all the attacks over the past 18 months since a raid on an Army battalion in Narathiwat when suspected insurgents made off with more than 300 weapons. Official figures show at least 18 teachers have been killed since January 2004 in the deep South.

Kowit told his staff during a visit to Narathiwat yesterday to pay particular attention to public teachers, saying attacks on their personal safety will have a ripple effect on the community as a whole.

Meanwhile, Dr Petchadow Toemeena, director of a government mental health unit overseeing the three southernmost provinces, yesterday said the ongoing violence had affected people from just about every profession.

Many feel abandoned and do not know where to turn to for help, she said.
There is also the problem of being understaffed, Petchadow said, pointing to the fact that there is only one mental-health patrol unit for the entire three provinces.

The Nation
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