Southern Thailand
Village Headman Gunned Down Inside Ban Arware Mosque in Southern Thailand
BANGKOK – A village headman in Southern Thailand has been shot and killed at mosque in Narathiwat’s Ra Ngae district on Sunday night.
Ra Nage Police Station’s superintendent Pol Colonel Kamol Narong said Pakruding Tohdeng, 48, the village head of Ban Arwar in Tambon Mareubotok, was killed inside the Ban Arware Mosque.
Stray bullets also injured a man praying next to the village headman, Mayudee Arbu, 43, sustained injuries to his right ankle and leg.
According to The Nation witnesses said the gunman arrived at the mosque on a motorcycle with another man and entered without drawing attention before suddenly opening fire on the village head. He then quickly fled the mosque to the waiting motorcycle and left the scene.
Police are trying to determine whether the shooting resulted from a personal conflict or was related to ongoing unrest in the deep South.