Perilous Times
Toddler shot dead in restive Thai south
* From: AFP
* August 29, 2010 9:23PM
A TWO-year-old boy has been shot and killed by a group of suspected
insurgents in Thailand's violent south as he travelled to a national
park with his parents.
The armed men, on a pick-up truck and a motorcycle, opened fire on the
Muslim family's car in Narathiwat province on Sunday, police said.
The boy and his father were both wounded and taken to hospital, where
the toddler died shortly after, becoming the latest victim of a spike
in violence during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The incident followed the roadside killing of a Thai defence volunteer,
aged 41, who was shot in the early hours of Sunday morning in the same
province as he returned from work.
Thailand last month extended emergency rule in the three troubled
Muslim-majority southern provinces until October, as it struggles to
quell unrest that has left more than 4,100 people dead in six years.
Shadowy Islamic militants, whose exact goals are unclear, have targeted
both Buddhists and Muslims, including many civilians.