Military authorities have vehemently denied a soldier fired the stray bullet that injured an eight-year old girl during a firefight with suspected militants in Pattani's Yaring district earlier this month.
The dispute was triggered by Facebook posts from prominent civil rights activist Anchana Heemmina, founder of the southern-based Duay Jai Group.
The posts said the child was injured by a bullet fired by an Isoc soldier, and the Wartani news agency picked up her report.
That resulted in a quick and heated denial from the official spokesman for Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Forward Command for Region 4.
"The stray bullet was not fired by our soldiers," Isoc spokesman Pramote Prom-in said.
The girl was at home with her grandmother, Samalo Awae, and grandfather, Mi Samae, when a clash broke out between security forces and militants on Jan 12.
Two insurgents opened fired at the soldiers from the back of the house after they parked their vehicles at Mr Mi's front gate. One soldier was wounded in the clash, Col Pramote said.
This, he said, corresponds with Mr Mi's testimony, who said he heard gun shots after the two suspects fled through his backyard, he said.
An inspection later found a fragment of a bullet which "passed through a kitchen door near the backyard and ricocheted off a concrete wall" before hitting the girl, Col Pramote said.
Mr Mi admitted he had allowed the suspects to stay the night in his house before they were found by the soldiers, Col Pramote said.
After the clash, the soldiers had Mr Mi check his family's belongings to prevent a robbery accusation, which Col Pramote said is often claimed after house searches. The request was referred to in response to Ms Samalo having told media crews that 15,000 baht in cash disappeared when the soldiers raided her house.
Meanwhile, Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) leader, Kasturi Mahkota, warned army chief Apirat Kongsompong against a plan to place soldiers on guard at temples across insurgency-torn Pattani.
An increased military presence at temples may put civilians in danger, he said on his Facebook page.