In the jihad in South Thailand, almost totally unreported by media, at least 1,730 people have been killed since January 2004.

The death toll in the insurgency that flared in southern Thailand in January 2004 is at least 1,730, with 2,510 people injured, an academic monitoring the conflict said today.

Fewer people have been killed so far this year compared with the previous two years but there has been a significant rise in bombings in the last 12 months, particularly since June, said Professor Srisomphop Chitpiromsri of Prince of Songkla University in the southern Pattani province.