UN calls for end to violence against children in Thai south

BANGKOK (AFP) - The UN on Wednesday called for an end to violence against children in southern Thailand following the "senseless and unacceptable" shooting of a baby girl in a region racked by nine years of unrest.

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) condemned Tuesday's attack on a teashop in Narathiwat that killed the infant and left a 10-month-old boy injured, in a rare statement on an insurgency that has killed thousands in three provinces bordering Malaysia.

The shooting, in which gunmen sprayed bullets at villagers who were having breakfast, was "a tragic, senseless and unacceptable act", said Mr Bijaya Rajbhandari, Unicef representative in Thailand.

"Every time a child is killed or injured, every time a child loses a parent or relative, and every time their schools and teachers are attacked, the more all children in the deep south suffer," he said.