Less than a week ago the charred corpses of two teachers were left near a school in Yala, where they were found by police shortly before children would have begun arriving for class.

It was part of an escalating saga of mutilations, shootings, bombings and arson despite significant peace-building moves by the new government, put in place after September's military coup.

Thursday is the third anniversary of a January 4, 2004 militant raid on a southern army base, which revived the long-running separatist insurgency in the region bordering Malaysia, resulting in more than 1,800 deaths since.

It comes as the country is still investigating who set off a deadly series of New Year's Eve bombs in Bangkok which prompted fears the southern conflict could be widening, although the government denies a link to the insurgency.

The military-backed government admits its initiatives have failed largely because it has yet to identify who is responsible for almost-daily attacks in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.

Older generations of fighters have expressed a readiness for dialogue, but it has done nothing to stop the violence, spearheaded by loosely organised groups of young fighters.

While analysts agree the struggle remains largely one for autonomy, Sunai Phasuk, Thailand representative for Human Rights Watch, has observed a more disturbing trend.

"Insurgent cells in Yala have demonstrated the inclination toward radical Islamic struggle to justify the attacks," he told AFP, adding that this small element wanted to drive Buddhists out and would likely reject peace measures.

"(For) the radical cells, this is a matter of armed struggle to the end," he warned, saying the government must ensure it is making peace overtures to the right people.

Wan Kadir Che Wan, head of Bersatu, an umbrella organization for southern separatist groups, told Al Jazeera television in a recent interview that young fighters were unwilling to negotiate because they believed they were winning their fight for a separate state.

"This new generation of people, they are very young and they are very determined... the old generation can compromise but this new generation seems to still want independence," Wan Kadir said.

"Not only independence, but they want to establish an Islamic state of Pattani," he added.

Despite emerging signs of radical Islamists in Yala, the violence remains targetted at both Buddhist and Muslim civilians.

"It has been a steady deterioration since January 2004 and the main trends are civilians are being targeted," said Francesca Lawe-Davies, an analyst with International Crisis Group.

"There is a danger the government is not going to be able to follow with (its peace-building) policy if there are no tangible results, so it is a matter of persevering," she added.

Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's heavy-handed tactics were widely blamed for exacerbating unrest in the south, an autonomous Malay sultanate annexed by Buddhist Thailand in 1902 which has rebelled sporadically ever since.

Since the military junta led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, a Muslim, seized power, the government has reopened a key mediation centre, apologised to the Muslim community and offered to meet insurgent leaders -- but with little effect so far.