A fact-finding panel has been given seven days to investigate the killing of four men in a gunfight with Pattani security officers last week.
The Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Command ordered the investigation after the mother of one of the victims demanded to know why her son was shot.
The mother, who declined to be named, said her son, 24-year-old Saddam Wanu, had nothing to do with insurgency in the South.
Saddam was killed in a shootout involving a joint force of policemen and military rangers on Wednesday evening. The incident took place at a construction site for a house in Thung Yang Daeng after a tip-off that a key insurgent group was plotting an attack in the district.
The other men killed were Suhaimee Seniae, 32, son of the deputy chairman of Piten Tambon Administration Organisation, and two Islamic University students, Kholid Samaeng, 24, and Madaree Maeroh, 23. Security forces also detained 22 people for questioning after the gunfight.
Forward Command spokesman Col Pramote Prom-in said officers yesterday met with the provincial governor and senior members of the Pattani Islamic Committee and Islamic University in response to calls for answers over the killings.
Following the meeting, the Forward Command issued a statement expressing its condolences to the families of the four men.
The statement said that 13 of the 22 people detained after the incident have been released. The rest will be freed shortly, if they are found to have no links to the insurgency.
The fact-finding panel into the killings includes local religious and community leaders, representatives of the Forward Command, the Islamic University and the police. It will be led by Waedoramae Mamingji, chairman of the Pattani Islamic Committee.
Mr Waedoramae said the panel will set working guidelines at its first meeting today. Once the investigation is complete, it will report to the Forward Command, the media and the general public.
He downplayed concerns that the tight deadline for the work could lead to a rushed investigation, adding that the authorities have already interviewed witnesses and the families of the four men.
The Forward Command said the authorities are working to ensure suspects in security cases are treated impartially under the law, with full respect to their human rights.
Col Pramote said incident could have been sparked by people trying to discredit the “Thung Yang Daeng model”, which combines the resources and manpower of military, police and civilian units.
The government-initiated project is designed to weaken insurgents' influence over communities by drawing villages together into a cohesive network to identify and issue warnings of violence.