Two men in dark helmets drove up and fired two shots at close range, hitting Chuthima Rathana-samneang, 34, and Rung-napha Kongsuwan, 31, in the head. The two were returning from work in Ban Takae village in Yaring district yesterday afternoon.

They were travelling in a convoy of four motorbikes with seven teachers who believed that travelling in a group would increase their safety.

"I have constantly pleaded with her to quit her job and return home. But she liked her job too much and always insisted that it was safe to continue her work," said Samneang, 56, Chuthima's mother who is a resident of Songkhla, a province just north of Pattani.

Prince of Songkhla Hospital director Dr Sumet Peerawoot said the bullet had lodged in a critical area of Chutima's brain.

"We still can't remove it," Sumet said.

Chutima's condition is as serious as that of Juling Pongkanmoon, another female teacher who has been in a coma since being beaten in mid-May, he said.

Her sister Thanyaporn said Chutima has told her of a recent threat by suspected militants who told her to leave her job or "they would not be able to guarantee her safety".

In Yala's Tambon Thaseh, suspected militants shot dead Sombhat Peng-ubol, 34, and set his body on fire. Sombhat was a local resident who took up the government's employment scheme that pays Bt4,500 per month.

Police said the culprit also made off with his weapon.

A growing concern about teachers being targeted in the restive region has been mounting over the past year as more and more teachers have been targeted by insurgents.

Schools in the three southernmost provinces have often shut down due to the ongoing violence that sees no end in sight.

The Nation

Pattani