Thailand: martial law extended as insurgency rages on

Two more Muslim-dominated districts under martial law. "The insurgents have used the districts to hide weapons".

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The army has extended martial law to two more Muslim-dominated districts of its insurgency-wracked south, a day after Islamic separatists staged a new show of strength with bombings that blacked out a provincial capital.

The top security official for the south, general Khwanchart Klaharn, said martial law was being declared in two districts of Songkhla province, which is next to the country's three southernmost Muslim-dominated provinces - Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani - where the insurgency has flared, killing more than 1,100 people since January last year.

"The insurgents have used the Chana and Thepha districts in Songkhla to hide weapons", the general said.

Meanwhile, police recovered the head of a man believed to be a Buddhist monk. More than a dozen Buddhists have been decapitated in the area's sectarian violence.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the latest clampdown was a decision of the military, and he was not told about it in advance.

"If the [violent] incidents have spilled over to other areas, it is possible to use martial law to solve problems in such areas. This has nothing to do with the government. They [the military] could do it on their own," he said.

Authorities declared a special state of emergency in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani four months ago. Parts of the provinces have been under martial law for years. The state of emergency is similar to martial law, but under the direct supervision of the government rather than the military.

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