A policeman and a village defense volunteer were shot dead by insurgents just 200 meters away from a police station in Thai southern province of Yala on Sunday morning.

The two were drinking tea at a shop near the Krong Penang district police station before they were attacked by six insurgents at 8:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT), Thai news group The Nation reported.

The two were identified as Police Senior Sgt-Maj Samart Wameng, 46, and Yusoh Jesoh, 38. Samart worked for the Krong Penang police station and Yusoh was a defense volunteer of Moo Sam Village.

Police said the six insurgents arrived on three motorcycles and the police officer noticed that something wrong so he and the defense volunteered got out of the shop but the two were cut down by gun fire in front of the shop.

The insurgents also took away the police officer's pistol and two magazines of spare cartridges.

More than 1,700 people have been killed since the violence reemerged in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand in January 2004. Since being appointed as Prime Minister after the September 19 coup, Gen. Surayud Chulanont has placed easing the violence in the south as one of his top priorities. He has been promoting reconciliation and apologized for the previous government's mistreatment to the people in the South.

Source: Xinhua