The officials agreed but the protest did not end. The group returned from the district chief's office to Ban Pansurk village nearby to join with hundreds of people gathering to block the road between Than To and the village. The situation became tense as a group of young men on motorbikes joined the protest and barred any passing vehicles.

By 1.30pm the number of protesters was growing and some of them took Marohyee's dead body and carried it from the village to the middle of town. The protesters shouted and threw stones and sticks at a police outpost located in front of the district's central market on their way to the parade.

The sound of gunfire was heard throughout the gruesome parade. Eyewitnesses said protesters and security officials who were deployed to clear the demonstration fired into the air. Officials, observers and journalists ran to find shelter from stray bullets.

Officials accused the protesters of parading the dead body to foment anger and violence but the villagers argued they did not intend to stir up public sentiment. The parade was a part of funeral ceremony to honour the dead man before the burial. The parade ended at an Islamic cemetery.

Police later arrested five men on suspicion of firing guns during the parade to create mob violence. One of the five, Doramae Demae, 26, admitted he had fired his weapon into the air. But police believe he intended to shoot into the crowd of protestors to create chaos.

Yala Than To district is one area officials believe has been infiltrated by militants who are manipulating locals to resist the authorities.

Colonel Shinawatra Mandej, commander of the First Special Task Force, said insurgents dominated many districts in Yala including Bannang Sata, Raman and Yaha. They had created similar protests in the area several times.