Three killed in shoot-out in Thailand's troubled south in Narathiwat province

Thailand's national police chief Damrongsak Kittipraphat (left) inspects security forces in Narathiwat on January 2. - AFP

NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Jan 21, 2023 (AFP): Three people were killed in a jungle shoot-out between government forces and separatist rebels in Thailand's troubled deep south, police said Saturday.

A low-level conflict has simmered in the country's southernmost provinces since 2004, killing more than 7,000 people, as rebels in the Muslim-majority region battle for greater autonomy from the state.