YALA, Thailand, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Two civil servants were shot dead by suspected militants in Thailand's restive deep south, police said on Wednesday. The bodies of the land department officials were found dumped in a rubber plantation in Narathiwat, one of three Muslim southernmost provinces, where nearly 3,500 people have been killed in five years of unrest. Ethnic Malay rebels have frequently targeted government officials and symbols of the Thai state as part of the separatist fight in the once-independent region, which Bangkok annexed a century ago. The large-scale police and military presence in the region has failed to halt near-daily bombings and drive-by shootings. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. (Reporting by Surapan Boonthanom; Writing by Kittipong Soonprasert; Editing by Martin Petty and Ron Popeski)
Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya (R) and Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong speak during a news conference after a bilateral meeting in Bangkok August 5, 2009. Both sides said they would ...
