GUNMEN shot dead two paramilitary troops as they escorted Buddhist monks on their morning alms route in Thailand's restive deep south, police said yesterday.

The victims, aged 37 and 42, died after attackers opened fire with assault rifles from the back of a pick-up truck, said police in the provincial town of Yala, one of three insurgency-plagued provinces near the border with Malaysia.

Local police deputy superintendent Lieutenant Colonel Sonthaya Toopthong said the violence could have been retaliation for the recent shooting dead of Muslim civilians by paramilitaries in Pattani province. The January incident, in which four civilians including an elderly man and an 18-year-old boy died, sparked local outrage and an official investigation.

In a separate incident on Saturday, another paramilitary, a Muslim, was shot dead in Pattani as he drove his pick-up truck.

A complex insurgency, waged without clearly stated aims, has riven Thailand's deep south for years, resulting in a heavy presence of government troops.

Around 5,000 people, Buddhists and Muslims, have been killed and 8,300 wounded since the unrest began in 2004, according to local conflict monitor Deep South Watch.

Monks are often given security protection for their morning alms collection rounds in the region, where they are seen as a symbol of the Thai state and, like teachers, are among the targets of attacks. AFP