Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has reportedly reached an agreement with his Malaysian counterpart Adbullah Ahmad Badawi on the issue of 131 Muslim villagers who have taken refuge in Malaysia after fleeing across the border from Thailand's southernmost province of Narathiwat in late August.

The Thai News Agency Thursday quoted a Malaysian New Straits Times newspaper report earlier this week that the Thai and Malaysian prime ministers reached the agreement during their talks on the sideline of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) Summit in South Korea.

Under the agreement, Malaysia agreed to send all the 131 Muslim villagers back home soon provided that the Thai government guarantees their safety.

Kuala Lumpur was waiting for a confirmation from Bangkok on when should be suitable for handing over all the 131 Muslim villagers to the Thai authorities, the Malaysian newspaper said.

The Thai authorities earlier reported that part of the fleeing Muslim villagers holds dual nationality, a key security issue the Thai and Malaysian governments are trying to address to faciliate the Thai government's attempt to control the southern situation with strategies to return peace and order to the region, the Thai News Agnecy said.

Source: Xinhua