Suspected insurgents kill 3 villagers

Some riot policemen take a rest and some stand guard with shields as they block a street to avoid clash between Thai pro-government protestors and anti-government protesters near the Government House, in Bangkok.

Anti-government protesters stand face to face with pro-government protesters, unseen, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand's prime minister declared a state of emergency in the capital Tuesday after street fighting overnight between opponents and supporters of the government left one man dead and dozens of people injured.

BANGKOK, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Insurgent violence continued in Thailand's deep south on Monday as militants shot dead three villagers as the Islamic Ramadan fast began, media here reported.

In an incident, a 61-year-old Thai-Muslim village headman was killed by the gunmen while he was driving in Bannang Sata district of Yala province, according to a report by Bangkok Post website. He was shot in the head with 9mm bullets.

In nearby province Pattani, suspected insurgents gunned down a 51-year-old female rubber farmer while she was driving to a rubber farm in Khok Pho district at 4:00 a.m. Monday (2100 GMT Sunday), the report said.

Another victim was a Thai-Muslim employee of the Pattani Provincial Land Office. He was shot while he was driving to work in Yarang district at around 7:00 a.m. (0000 GMT).

Thailand's three southernmost provinces -- Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat have been troubled with a resurrected wave of insurgent violence since January 2004, where over 3,500 people have been killed. Thai authorities have blamed separatist militants in the Muslim-predominant region as the main culprit.