Thai army chief Prayuth Chanocha Tuesday slashed insurgent attacks against innocent people in the Deep South.

Prayuth described the insurgents as"inhuman" for killing children, women, the elderly and religious leaders, among others, referring in particular to the latest attack that killed three Muslim children in Yala province on Monday night.

The insurgents have used guerrillas attack against the authorities and violated all rules of war, Prayuth was quoted by the Nation newspaper as saying, adding that dialogue with insurgents' leaders would continue.

Separatist violence in Thailand's Deep South dated back to January 2004 and incidents of violence has occurred frequently in the three Muslim, ethnic-Malay dominated southern border provinces -- Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and four districts of Songkhla.

The latest figures from the Thai military show that insurgent violence in Thai Deep South has left more than 5,900 people dead and 10,500 others injured during the past decade.