Four gunned down in south Thailand

BANGKOK: Four people have been gunned down in Thailand’s Muslim-majority southernmost provinces, police said, in 24 hours of violence that included the murder of a Buddhist rubber tapper whose corpse was then set alight.

The deaths come during a recent uptick in violence after months of relative calm in a region where more than 6,500 people – the majority civilians – have died since a rebellion against Thai rule re-ignited in 2004.