Fleeing an increasingly violent insurgency, dozens of Thai Muslims have fled across the border to Malaysia - where police say 131 undocumented refugees have already been detained. The group, including nine women and 16 children, sought refuge on Tuesday in several mosques in the northeastern state of Kelantan which borders Thailand, said state police chief Zulkifli Abdullah. "They came in without travel documents and we have handed them over to the immigration department for further action," he told journalists.Zulkifli said the Thais had told police that they feared for their safety in their home provinces, where a Muslim insurgency is raging. Nearly 900 people have died in the Thai south over the past 20 months. "They are just worried about their safety but as far as police are concerned, we are worried about them coming in without documents," he said. One of those detained, identified as Salleh, told the official Bernama news agency that they fled after the army entered their village in Thailand's Narathiwat province two days ago and a village chief was shot dead.
| Just shot him. For no reason at all. |