BANGKOK - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he would visit Malaysia next week to hold talks with his counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi aimed at ending months of violence in Thailand's Muslim south.

"I plan to go to Malaysia on April 9 to meet with the Malaysian prime minister," Thaksin told reporters, adding the trip was yet to be confirmed.

High on the agenda will be tackling the issue of militants with dual Thai-Malaysian nationality, who are accused of carrying out a weekend bombing in a Thai border town which wounded 28 including eight Malaysian tourists.

"We have to clearly tell Malaysia that currently Malaysian villages are habouring militants. We are not accusing them but we want Malaysia to take action as it has pledged to cooperate," he said.

Thaksin said he had asked Thai authorities to compile a list of suspected militants holding dual citizenship and that they would have to choose which nationality to keep.

Stolen explosives

Malaysian officials have called on Thaksin to back up his charges that the culprits behind the weekend attack in Sungai Golok escaped to Malaysia, saying they could not take action without accurate information.

The Thai leader admitted the situation in the south was escalating, particularly after the theft on Tuesday of a huge amount of explosive materials from a quarry in Narathiwat province which borders Malaysia.

"I was stunned to hear that and wondered why it happened so easily. Officials there are on the defensive, waiting for the central government to issue orders, which is a weak point," he said.

Thaksin said he had instructed southern authorities to confiscate all explosive materials and store them in military camps.

Thai authorities have said they feared the militants planned to use the explosives to mount an attack during the Songkran water festival in mid-April which is the kingdom's main holiday season. - AFP