Everyone from imams to Muslim rubber farmers has been targeted by death squads and bombs detonated in Thai ethnic areas have indiscriminately claimed Muslim lives.

"The new radical leadership has no problems with collateral victims in its campaign. Their attitude is that Muslims should not be living next to ethnic Thais anyway," Phasuk said.

Amnesty International's latest report on the armed conflict called on insurgents to halt the campaign of targeting civilians.

"The insurgents seem to be attacking many of the very people on whose behalf they are ostensibly fighting, destroying their lives and livelihoods," said Donna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, at the 2011 release of the report.

"Whatever their grievances, they do not justify this serious and systematic violation of international law."

Human Rights Watch said that while insurgents use human rights abuses by the Thai military as an excuse for its reprisals, Bangkok -- where the government has a long tradition of drawing its legitimacy through the army -- needed the political courage to hold the military accountable.

"If this had happened, it may have slowed down radicalization," Phasuk said.