BANGKOK, Nov 12: Buddhist monks in Thailand's restive south will stop their daily morning rounds to receive alms from Monday, due to escalating violence in the Muslim-majority region, officials said on Sunday.

The monks in Narathiwat, one of three insurgency-torn southern provinces bordering Malaysia, told local officials that the situation was getting too dangerous to go out for alms.

Last month, one soldier guarding five alms-seeking monks was killed when a bomb hidden in a garbage bin exploded in Narathiwat. The five monks were also injured in the blast.

Thailand's military-backed Premier Surayud Chulanont said those who wished to give food to monks in Narathiwat must go directly to temples.

“Ceasing morning alms is one measure that can help step up security in the south,” Surayud told reporters.

Surayud, who was installed by the military following a September coup, has vowed to peacefully resolve the long-running unrest in the south where some 1,600 people have been killed since January 2004.

But since he took office, the region has instead seen a surge in violence.—AFP