A gunman opened fire with a 9mm pistol on Nurulhayatee Salae, 28, who was heading home on a motorbike home with her 17-year-old niece. The bullets entered Narulhayatee's hip as the assassin sped away.

Police suspect Islamic insurgents were behind the attack.

Meanwhile, the president of Yala's teaching federation, Sanya Suwanpho, warned fellow teachers to take extra care as they might be at increased risk as Muslim insurgents could attack when the semester starts on May 16.

"I have informed them of the increased danger and asked them to take extra care as no one knows what will happen to teachers. Insurgents tend to attack teachers at the beginning of a semester," he said.

Schools could face a teaching crisis Sanya said and urged the caretaker Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya to approve a Bt50 million budget to hire 1,660 teachers for the region.

"If the government does not approve this budget, the South will definitely face a shortage of teachers this semester," said Sanya, adding it was the government's fault for doing little to dissuade teachers from fleeing after violent incidents.

Fear for their lives together with insufficient cash for salaries had forced them out, said Sanya, and it was very unlikely they would return.

The South has been hit with near daily violence since January 2004, resulting in more than 1,200 deaths.

The Nation

Narathiwat