Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has ordered the Defense Minister Chettha Thanajaro to take charge of the restive south in a bid to streamline authorities and clarify confusion over security situation there.

The prime minister has also dissolved the two-month-old forward command of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). He said the agency, which was supposed to be in direct control of security in the deep south, "had complicated the line of command," Bangkok Post reported on Saturday.

"The Fourth Army commander should have the final say on all security matters in the southernmost area," Thaksin's security adviser Kitti Rattanachaya was also quoted as saying.

"The ISOC forward command caused confusion and in the long run created more security problems," he said.

It is the first time Thaksin has made public comments about the personnel effect on southern security situation since the worst clashes in the south left 115 dead on Wednesday.

The ISOC forward commander Panlop Pinmanee was immediately called back to Bangkok on Wednesday night after the government troops finally quelled the last batch of insurgents holed up in the Krue Se Mosque in the southern province of Pattani.

Local reports said Panlop was removed for directing troops to storm the mosque rather than obeying the order of seeking a peaceful solution with the insurgents.

The takeover of the mosque, an ancient building, resulted in great sympathy for local insurgents and doubts of the government's heavy-handed measure to solve the problem.

Pictures of the mosque stained by blood and battered by bullets have grabbed the most conspicuous space in most of Thai press in recent days.

"Thailand is bracing itself for far-reaching repercussions. Many Muslims would treat those killed at the Krue Se Mosque Wednesday as martyrs," said a comment published by newspaper The Nation.

Panlop, the most senior official present during the standoff, defended himself, saying if the occupation of the mosque was allowed to continue into the night the situation would have become more complicated as groups of people, including teenagers, were gathering around the place.

"To avoid further confusion, the ISOC forward command will be dissolved and responsibility for security in the area will fall toGeneral Chetta," said Thaksin.

"This will help streamline security among various security agencies," he added.

Source: Xinhua