The police said today they have detained 131 undocumented Thai Muslims, including women and children, who said they fled across the border to escape violence in Thailand's restive south.

The group, including nine women and 16 children, sought refuge on Tuesday in several mosques in 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 AFP .

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.

Zulkifli said Malaysian police had tightened security at all border points.

"We have our patrols working around the border so we will tighten the security around there," he said.

24-hour patrols

News reports quoted the police as saying they feared thousands more Thai Muslims could cross over the border in the next few days, but Zulkifli said he "cannot say for certain" if others were expected.

Marine police in the area said they were carrying out 24-hour patrols along the country's northeastern coast near the border with Thailand.

"Four boats with 16 marine officers and personnel are mounting patrols on rotation," marine police commander Ahmad Abu Bakar was quoted as saying by Bernama .

The violence in southern Thailand has flared anew with a series of bomb blasts and shootings across the troubled region leaving three people including two policemen dead and 21 injured since late yesterday.