SONGKHLA: Two Uighur escapees from an immigration detention centre were recaptured on Thursday in Sadao district and others are being hunted near the border with Malaysia.
The arrest followed a tip-off that two strangers were spotted hiding in jungle near a border village.
Authorities moved into the area on Wednesday night and found them on Thursday morning, when they came out of the forest to ask villagers for food.
District chief Boonpas Raknui identified them only as Abdulloh, 24, and Muhamad Abdullah, 22. They were handed over to Sadao police station.
Mr Boonpas said the search was continuing for 17 others also believed to be in hiding in the border area.
Another man has been caught in Kedah state of Malaysia, the Straits Times reported. He was identified as Mohammatimin, in his 30s. The Kedah police chief commissioner said he would be transferred to Thai authorities.
Twenty-five Uighurs fled an immigration detention centre in Sadao on Monday, and five had already been caught.
They were arrested in 2015 and detained at the Songkhla Immigration Office centre pending prosecution for illegal entry, after their claimed nationality could not be confirmed.
China insists they are Chinese citizens fleeing the Uighar autonomous region and has urged Thailand to quickly find and bring them to justice.