Her Majesty the Queen is deeply concerned over an escalation of violence in the deep South which has forced Buddhist monks and civilians to flee, said Her Majesty's close aide.
Gen Naphon Buntup, deputy chief aide-de-camp general who serves on a team of personal staff working for the Queen, said dozens of temples and homes in the three southernmost provinces have been abandoned.
Several of the 260 Buddhist temples across the region have few monks left, he said.
Her Majesty has received a large number of petitions about people's hardship which has greatly troubled her.
"She has instructed me to look into their needs and visit monks at all those temples," said Gen Naphon.
"Every month I still travel down south to see how things develop," he said during a special lecture given at a meeting of the Internal Security Operations Command in Bangkok.
Gen Naphon said Her Majesty has also used her money to purchase plots of land and given them to the villagers affected by violence.
He said Her Majesty wishes to boost the villagers' morale and does not want them to leave their hometowns.
The Queen has made an effort to improve the living standards of all people in the far South.
"The Queen has spent up to 150 million baht in only one month to purchase handicrafts from Muslim villagers in the far South," said the chief aide-de-camp.
Gen Naphon said he has no intention of causing divisiveness among people of different faiths.
But the southern unrest persists due to insurgents' attempts to exploit religions and faiths, and spur their followers on to violence.
A secret video clip was leaked to authorities of insurgent members at a meeting.
They mentioned they are developing a strategy to attack Buddhists and force them to move from the restive region and gain an autonomous state.
Many Buddhist Thais had sold their land and relocated.
"In Krong Pinang and Bannang Sata districts of Yala, only one Buddhist Thai village is left," he said.
In Narathiwat's Ban Dusongyor village, only five out of 220 Buddhist Thai families remain.
Her Majesty's concerns for the southern situation have been relayed to the public from time to time. In her birthday speeches, the Queen has addressed the issue at length.
Last year on the eve of her birthday, Her Majesty deplored the violence in the deep South and denounced attacks on monks as an infringement of religious freedom.
Meanwhile, the government is gearing up for this week's workshop to work out an action plan to address the southern violence.
The meeting is the first to be called after the government proposed a new permanent command centre to quell violence in the restive region.
Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa said the Isoc and the National Security Council will draft the action plan to be forwarded to army chief Gen Prayuth Chanocha, also deputy chief of Isoc.
Gen Yutthasak said the military, the police, civilian officials and 17 cabinet ministers will take part in the meeting on Wednesday.
The ministries will work more closely with the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC), he said.
"Currently there are no officials from the 17 ministries working on the issue. From now on we will have politicians and representatives from all ministers work on it," he said.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would take charge.
He expressed confidence the southern situation should improve after the workshop.
On the proposed curfew, he said the Fourth Army Region commander has the authority to decide if it will be imposed.
Defence Minister ACM Sukumpol Suwanatat said the proposed curfew is likely to be discussed at the workshop.
Suranand Vejjajiva, the prime minister's secretary-general, yesterday defended Ms Yingluck's decision not to visit the deep South.
He said the prime minister is deeply concerned about the situation but she has confidence that the authorities, especially the military, are capable of handling it.