BANGKOK, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Insurgent violence in Thailand's three southernmost provinces showed no sign of letting up as more shootings and arson attacks staged by militants through Friday night to Saturday.

    A fruit vendor was shot dead in his shop early Saturday in Pattani's provincial seat, while a man on his way to work in rural Yala was killed, in separate drive-by shootings. Nearly 2,000 people were killed by the insurgent violence in this region in the past three years.

    The 59-year-old Pattani vendor was killed when four gunmen on two motorcycles parked in front of his store and one of them fired two shots at him. The victim died instantly and the attackers fled the scene, according to Thai News Agency.

    Also on early Saturday morning, a man was shot dead in another drive-by shooting Saturday morning in nearby Yala province on his way to work, local police said.

    The victim Wirojphet Boonwan, a 34-year-old Thai Buddhist, was shot by two men riding on a motorcycle on a rural road in Yaha district, Yala province, reported Bangkok-based news network The Nation.

    Wirojphet was killed when he was seating in his office, the Police said, adding that insurgents set fire on a school building on late Friday night in Narathiwat province.

    Other reports from Bangkok Post website recorded more arson attacks around the same time in the same district. Police were quoted as saying that insurgents set fire on a police box at a train barricade and a public health center near a train station. The latter was razed.

    Violence has been on the rise in recent weeks in the three southern provinces -- Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, with drive-by shootings and arson attacks occurring almost on daily basis, dampening already sluggish community life and trade.

    Activity in many areas are coming to a virtual standstill, while hundreds of schools were forced to close indefinitely in the aftermath of frequent attacks targeting schools and teachers.

    The Nation quoted a source as saying that intelligence officers had been warned that insurgents had gathered in two districts to plan another massive attack at the downtown area, possible targets being police and soldier posts, government offices and schools.

    In order to deal with the violence, Police in Yala province have stepped up security on Saturday. Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont also said that his government is ready to adjust its strategy in an attempt to solve the problem.