Villagers parade charred body of victim for Gen Sonthi in Yala
Some 200 people paraded the charred remain of a woman who was shot dead and set ablaze through streets in Yala's Muang district to to protest the unending violence in the deep south.
Militants shot dead Patcharaporn Bunmart, 26, on Wednesday and burned her body in Yala's Muang district. The victim was on her way to work. The villagers wrapped her body in a white cloth and placed it at the staircase leading into a government building where Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chief of head of the Thai junta, was meeting with local leaders. The villagers of her village they wanted to show Sonthi how gruesome the attacks have become and to demand protection for the Buddhists in the province. Sonthi meanwhile them he was working with local officials to find ways of reducing the daily violence in the deep south province. "I promise that we will do everything possible to better protect innocent villagers," he said. Sonthi was on a two-day trip to meet Muslim religious leaders as well as local government and military chiefs. Violence continued in Yala as a 19-year-old Buddhist man was also killed on Wednesday in a drive-by shooting. His 47-year-old mother was seriously wounded in the attack. In nearby Pattani province, five officials from the Revenue Department were wounded Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their van. "The attacks have decreased in number but the militants have adjusted their strategies to be more violent and brutal in order to terrify people," he said. "Don't fall into their trap. Villagers must be patient. The militants want to create a sectarian war," he1 said. The Nation
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