OFF-TRACK: Soldiers guarding a section of a derailed train in the southern province of Pattani yesterday. Train services in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have been suspended indefinitely. -- REUTERS

State railways halted all services in the region after a train derailed in Pattani, injuring at least 14 people.

Suspected militants had hit five tracks, removing nuts and bolts pinning the rails and loosening connections between train carriages, causing the derailment.

Ms Monthakan Srivilas of the State Railway of Thailand said initial investigations concluded that the attacks were linked to the ongoing separatist insurgency in the country's volatile south.

'We will increase security measures,' she said.

All rail services in the southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani have been suspended indefinitely, she said.

The derailed train was heading from Yala - one of three southern provinces caught in the grip of an insurgency that erupted in January 2004 - to Hat Yai, the commercial centre of the south.

Railway officials said three carriages carrying about 200 people jumped the rails.

It later emerged that insurgents had attempted to disrupt rail services across the south with five other attacks on the line. They had either removed nails or lit fires along the track, but no one else was injured.

More than 30,000 government troops are stationed in the troubled region, but they have not been able to halt the daily killings and bombings.

More than 2,100 people have been killed in the insurgency so far.

Muslims, who make up more than 90 per cent of the region's 1.8 million population, are unhappy with the presence of troops, who are mostly Buddhists from other parts of the country, and are demanding their withdrawal.

Meanwhile, an ongoing demonstration at Pattani's main mosque came to an end yesterday when protesters dispersed after officials said an independent body would be set up to investigate alleged wrongdoings by security forces in the area.

'To prove our sincerity and commitment to non-violent resolutions, we have decided to dismiss the rally,' the protesters said in a statement.

'But if what they have agreed with us does not turn out as promised, we will come back for another major rally to achieve our demand.'

Among the 10 demands submitted to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was one for an investigation into the alleged rape and murder of a Muslim woman and another into the killing of three neighbours by paramilitary troops last month.

Army spokesman Acra Tiproch said an independent panel to investigate the allegations would be set up as soon as possible.

Cellphone signals, which have been switched off in the region for the past five days because they can be used to trigger bombs, could resume later yesterday, he said.

Despite the violence and growing calls for more drastic action against the militants from Thai Buddhists, Prime Minister Surayud insists that he remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE