Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has reassured the visiting former US secretary of State Colin Powell that the ongoing violence in the country's deep South was not linked to international terrorism, local press reported Monday.

Powell, who is in Bangkok to address a private-sector forum Monday, met Thaksin on Sunday and asked him whether the violence in Thailand's southernmost provinces was linked with regional terrorism.

Powell was relieved when he was told it was a domestic problem, Thaksin was quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying.

Powell said that the assessment was in accord with US intelligence, which also indicated that the violence was probably home-grown.

When US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld visited Thailand earlier this month, the prime minister assured him that the insurgency problem in Thailand's southernmost provinces is not related to international terrorism but an internal affair. Thakisn added that the government is working hard to solve the problem.

Despite the reassurance, some Thai security officials said more indications show that the violence do links with regional network, especially in the area of finance, training and ideology.

They cited the increasingly sophisticated employment of explosive devices as an example.

The long-haunted violence in Muslim-dominated deep South showed no sign of ceasing, although various measures have been taken by the government to eradicate it.

In Narathiwat's Waeng district, two villagers aged 31 and 26 respectively were shot by two motorcyclists Sunday. They were seriously wounded and taken to hospital.

On Saturday, three civilians were killed by gunshots in Narathiwat and Yala provinces following a spate of arson and bomb attacks in the southernmost provinces over the past several days.

Though no big casualties were reported, the intensive attacks at more than 20 locations in the deep South last week have raised concerns.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Chidchai Wanasatidya, who flew to the region to assess security situation last Friday, expressed confidence that the southern situation would be improved in three months and promised bonus for security officials working here.

Since the beginning of last year, the southernmost stripe of the kingdom has been gripped by unabated violence, which by far has claimed more than 800 lives. The authorities have blamed revived local separatists for the ongoing violence.

Source: Xinhua