Security is being stepped up in the deep South ahead of the ninth anniversary on Friday of the Tak Bai protest, the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 said.
Fourth Army commander Sakol Chuentrakul has ordered authorities to be more vigilant and closely monitor the situation, Isoc Region 4 spokesman Col Pramote Prom-in said.
He said intelligence reports suggest militants are planning activities to mark the ninth anniversary of the incident.
Seventy eight people died at the hands of security forces after demonstrating outside Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat.
"Insurgents have been exploiting the Tak Bai and Krue Se incidents as an excuse to harm innocent people over the years," he said.
Col Pramote also defended the killings of three suspected insurgents in Pattani's Thung Yang Daeng on Tuesday, saying authorities acted within the scope of the law. Three suspected militants died in a gun battle with authorities. One was arrested and two others escaped.
He said the one who was detained admitted the group had been planning attacks in Thung Yang Daeng and Mayo districts when they encountered security forces. A security source said authorities have identified an insurgent group responsible for 11 ATM bomb attacks in several districts in Yala on Oct 9.
The source said the group is headed by Rafee Mamaroyalee, 28, who is accused of involvement in four bomb attacks in Yala's Muang district in April this year.
Meanwhile, the next round of peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) remains on hold because the group has yet to explain the spike in violence.
The next round of talks was initially set for tomorrow. Col Chamroon Ampa, an adviser to the National Security Council, said authorities in charge of reviewing the BRN's demands were prepared to submit a report to Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok for consideration.
Pol Gen Pracha, in charge of implementing the government's policies to resolve the southern unrest, is expected to a call a meeting to study the BRN's demands and how the government would respond to them.