PM called for southerners to reconcile their differences.

"There is a sense of mistrust and suspicion between Buddhists and Muslims in the area. They have to help one another to build up trust by working together,'' Surayud said during a visit to Yala's Ban Bang Lam, one of the most violence-prone area in the Malay-speaking south.

More than 2,300 people have been killed, mostly local Muslims, since January due to the ongoing violence that authorities blamed on a new generation of Malay insurgents. The violence has shattered the fabric of the society of Thailand's deep south where Malays, Chinese and Thais have historically co-existed peacefully.

Mistrust between the local community and the state agency is at one of its all time high as Muslims accused security officials of carrying out target killings and kidnapping, while Buddhists called for a step up in security measures to curb the violence.

Surayud spent Wednesday night at a military base in Bannang Sata district to boost morale among the public and security officials. His government has said it would continue with its reconciliatory approach but so far, his olive branch has yet to bare fruit.

The PM has rejected suggestions that an autonomous zone be set up bud did not ruled out the possible of granting an administrative model like Bangkok or Pattaya for this restive region.

Ban Bang Lang, Narathiwat

 The Nation