Thai authorities will start on Saturday releasing most of the 1200 Muslim men detained last week after a protest which left 85 dead and outraged Muslims worldwide, the country's prime minister has said. Thaksin Shinawatra said 300 protesters would remain in custody as an investigation continued into last Monday's tragedy, one of the bloodiest days in a 10-month wave of unrest in the mainly-Muslim south. "The remaining 900 protesters will be continuously released starting from this afternoon," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address. The region, home to most of Thailand's five million Muslims, is seething with anger after 78 men suffocated after being crammed into army trucks and driven five hours to a military barracks. Another seven died as a result of wounds received at the demonstration, which security forces broke up by firing live rounds, teargas and water cannon. **PM under pressure*** Thaksin, under pressure from close ally the United States, regional neighbours and the UN rights body, said on Friday he would set up an independent commission to "investigate the incident with the aim of bringing wrongdoers to justice". But Thaksin, speaking on nationwide television, did not single out anyone for blame despite rumours that the army general who ordered soldiers to quell the protest would be sacked. The Bangkok Post newspaper, citing security sources, said on Saturday Lieutenant General Pisarn Wattanawongkeeree's removal was only a matter of time. "We cannot deny local security forces mishandled the case leading to the deaths of so many protesters. Some kind of action has to be taken to show our remorse for the tragedy," an unnamed security officer was quoted as saying. The newspaper also quoted deputy army commander General Theptut Promopagorn as saying: "The army's image and credibility have been badly tarnished worldwide with this incident". **'Nothing to do with religion'*** In his speech on Friday, Thaksin defended the breakup of the protest, saying efforts to end it peacefully had failed and the crowd was becoming violent. The Thai leader said he regretted the deaths and denied his administration was mistreating Thailand's Muslim minority. "This is a matter of maintaining law and order and has absolutely nothing to do with religion," Thaksin said on Friday. Thai Muslim leaders have said the incident could turn the poor region, home to a separatist insurgency in the 70s and 80s, into a fertile recruiting ground for the likes of al-Qaida. There were no reports of fresh violence in the region, where three bombings have killed two people and wounded more than 30 since Thursday. Countries in the region reacted with dismay and anger to the bloodshed. Muslims demonstrated on Friday outside Thai embassies in Malaysia and Indonesia, chanting anti-Thai slogans and waving banners saying "Stop the genocide of Muslims by Thailand" and "Thailand: the land of bloodshed". Monday's deaths have raised concerns among Thailand's neighbours that the situation in the Malay-speaking south, where at least 440 people have been killed since January, may spiral out of control. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Thai Muslims pray during Friday prayer at an old mosque before in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat, October 29, 2004. (REUTERS)