Buddhist woman shot dead in southern Thailand as religious tension escalates

Originally published on February 10, 2014

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The wife of a policeman was gunned down and then set on fire at a busy market on Sunday in southern Thailand.

The 28-year-old Buddhist woman was getting into her car after shopping for groceries in the Ratapanyang area of Pattani Province, a religiously volatile area where the majority of the population is Muslim, when she was ambushed by a group of gunmen.

After shooting her, the attackers set the woman's corpse on fire and fled the scene. Police later found a note which said the murder was to avenge the death of three Muslim children killed last week. AFP reported that the note stated: "We will keep killing you as long as you are still on our land."

The Muslim insurgents believe the police should be held responsible for the deaths of the Muslim children aged 3, 5 and 9, who were shot dead in front of their home in neighbouring Narathiwat Province. Their pregnant mother and father were also shot, but they survived the attack.

The attacks in the past week have spurred fears that religious violence in the area will escalate. Four provinces in Thailand's south, Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and Satun, are predominantly Muslim and were annexed by Thailand about a century ago.

Rebels in the area are demanding greater autonomy from Bangkok, but peace talks have been stalled as the government has been busy dealing with anti-government protests raging in the capital.

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