[Bangkok Post] A local leader was gunned down in front of his home in Yala province. Madolor Salae, chairman of a local administration organization in Muang district, was exiting his vehicle to close the gate of his house yesterday morning when two men on a motorcycle drove up and fired multiple shots at him before fleeing. Madolor was taken to Yala Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The murder is the latest violent incident in the Muslim-dominated far South, which is raising new concerns among Thai authorities and local communities. The Buddhist network in Yala recently asked the government for more protection and financial help for families of victims.
Their calls stem from a series of recent attacks that have targeted Buddhist villagers, including the killing of four people in Narathiwat province last week and a couple in Songkhla province on February 28. The pair were killed and their bodies dumped in a river. Police investigators believe the attackers wanted their car to make a car bomb.