Deadly Shooting of Five Buddhists in Thailand by Militants

Pattani, Thailand (CHAKRA) — In the Southern part of Thailand, five Buddhists have been shot and killed because of an ongoing conflict of many years between the government and Malay Muslims. Thailand is a majority Buddhist country in Asia.

In the province of Pattani, police witnessed Muslim militants gunmen open fire on five people who were sitting outside of a local store in the market.

Over 4,300 people have been killed in Pattani, a majority Muslim region in the South of Thailand. 4,300 deaths have been reported since 2004, when the insurgency commenced. In addition to the five shootings, there have been many deadly attacks recently including an assault on the military base.

In 2004, Muslim militants raided a Thailand military weapons depot, killing five soldiers and stole 350 semi-automatic rifles. After the raid, Thailand’s army launched a series of attacks on the separatists. Over 4,000 people have died, mostly Buddhist and more than 7,000 others have been injured in the past 6 years?.