‘Insurgents must stop brutal

A leading rights group spoke out Tuesday over the targeting of civilians and brutal killings in Thailand’s restive south, warning that beheadings, live burnings and torture were becoming common. More than 3,300 people have been killed since separatist unrest broke out in January 2004, and militants’ tactics have become increasingly gruesome. ‘Insurgent groups continue to unleash brutality on civilians to demonstrate their power and weaken the credibility of Thai authorities,’ Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said in a statement. ‘Retaliating against government abuses does not provide any excuse for killing civilians. Their tactics are illegal and cannot be justified in any circumstances.’ Insurgents have shot dead four people in Pattani province since Monday, in two separate attacks. On Tuesday, a couple employed as construction workers were shot on their way to work before their bodies were set alight, the police said. Two army rangers were also shot dead as they escorted a school bus on Monday afternoon. Three students were injured in the ambush, the police said. On July 4, insurgents beheaded Khan Sangthong, a 55-year-old Buddhist, in nearby Yala province. He was shot, burned and had nails hammered through his hands before being beheaded. His severed head was placed on a bridge yards from his body. Human Rights Watch said more than 20 Buddhist Thais have been beheaded by insurgents across the southern border provinces in the last four years.