From CNN, with thanks to Teri:
BANGKOK, Thailand — Thousands of teachers in Thailand have walked off their jobs to protest a lack of security in the country’s south.
More than 300 schools in Pattani province, a region hard hit by a Muslim insurgency, closed their doors Thursday.
But others in Yala and Narathiwat provinces remained open.
Pairat Wihakarat, who heads the Southern Teachers Association, told The Associated Press a meeting would be held Thursday to decide whether to close schools in these two provinces.
The teachers say they won’t return to school until the government can provide adequate protection, an education official said.
Militants have been targeting teachers and other government workers, with three teachers killed in recent weeks.
Violence has troubled the Muslim south of predominantly Buddhist Thailand for decades, but has worsened this year, with more than 500 people dying so far.