"I estimate that around 10,000 of them rallied here in front of the provincial hall, and so far the rally has gone smoothly," Pattani governor Somporn Chaibangyang told AFP by telephone from Pattani town, just over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of the capital.

Somporn said the provincial authority had deployed local police and a limited number of anti-riot police as organisers, Muslim committees from the south's five Muslim-majority provinces, had provided 20 to 30 of their own security guards.

"They are holding a peaceful rally and so far the demonstration has gone without any incident," he said.

The protesters, mostly from the provinces of Yala, Satun, Songkhla, Narathiwat and Pattani, prayed for peace, listened to Muslim clerics denounce the war and collected donations for Iraqi people affected by the conflict.

"First we met at the central mosque in town to pray for peace and then we marched a kilometre to rally at the provincial hall," said Asami Tohmena, a member of one of the committees from Pattani.

"We denounced the US killing of Iraqi children, women and the elderly which is against Islamic belief. We denounced the US invasion of Iraq," he said.

Last week some 20,000 Muslims rallied peacefully in the southern city of Songkhla.

Thailand has said it will not engage in military action against Iraq and is remaining neutral, although it is a US ally in its war against terror.

Around five percent of Thailand's 63 million people are Muslims.

SPACE.WIRE