Thai PM apologises for 2004 Tak Bai massacre that killed 85 Muslims

Thailand's prime minister has apologised for the deaths two decades ago of dozens of Muslim protesters who were piled up in army trucks, hours from the expiry of the statute of limitations on an incident over which no state official has been convicted.

"I am deeply saddened for what happened and apologise on behalf of the government," Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday, vowing to ensure no repeat of such events.

The security crackdown in the southern town of Tak Bai in 2004 caused the deaths of 85 people and was one of the most high-profile events of a separatist insurgency that re-ignited that same year and has since killed more than 7,600 people.

The incident in predominantly Buddhist Thailand captured international attention and drew widespread condemnation, after 78 people were crushed to death or suffocated while bound and piled on top of each other in army trucks. Seven others were shot dead.

The crackdown was widely known as the Tak Bai massacre and took place under the administration of Paetongtarn's father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a key figure behind her ruling Pheu Thai Party.