In Thailand eight-year-old boy and three relatives were shot dead

An eight-year-old boy and three relatives were shot dead on their way to school in Thailand’s insurgency-torn south today, authorities said, casting a pall over recent peace talk gains.

At least 6,800 people — mostly civilians — have been killed in attacks that have seen both sides accused of rights abuses.

Thailand’s southern tip has festered with violence for over a decade as Malay-Muslim rebels

wage a rebellion against the Buddhist-majority state.
Early Thursday two gunmen opened fire on the pick-up truck of a local official who was driving his son to school in Narathiwat province, police and a military spokesmen said.

The deputy village headman’s wife and sister-in-law were also in the car with all four killed in the ambush. Two other people were also in the vehicle but survived the attack.