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5 Buddhists Gunned Down in Southern Thailand

   VOA News  February 03, 2011
   Buddhist  villagers  mourn next to the bodies of their slain relatives
   in Pattani province, southern Thailand, February 3, 2011.

Photo: Reuters

   Buddhist  villagers  mourn next to the bodies of their slain relatives
   in Pattani province, southern Thailand, February 3, 2011.

   Five  Buddhists in southern Thailand have become the latest victims of
   a  years-long  struggle  between  the  government  and  Malay  Muslims
   fighting for autonomy in the Buddhist-dominated country.
   Police  say  gunmen  opened  fire on the five Thursday while they were
   sitting outside a store in Pattani province.
   Pattani  is  one of three Muslim-majority provinces in the south where
   more  than 4,300 have been killed since the insurgency began in 2004.Â
   The region has been plagued by several deadly attacks in recent weeks,
   including a bold assault on a military base last Saturday.

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