BANGKOK: A Thai court on Monday formally dismissed charges against seven officials over a notorious massacre which left 85 people dead, ending hopes of justice for survivors and victims' families.

The 20-year statute of limitations expired on Friday in the "Tak Bai massacre" case, and on Monday the court in the southern province of Narathiwat closed the case.

In the incident on October 25, 2004, security forces opened fire on protesters outside a police station in the town of Tak Bai, in Narathiwat, killing seven.

Following the shooting, 78 people suffocated after they were arrested and stacked on top of each other in the back of Thai military trucks, face down and with their hands tied behind their backs.

Despite several government apologies and compensation to victims' relatives in 2012, no charges were brought until August this year.

Seven officials including former senior army officers were wanted in the case but avoided arrest until the statute of limitations expired.

The Narathiwat court said in a statement on Monday that because the defendants had not been arrested and brought before it, the case was dismissed and could not be reopened.

The incident has long stood as an emblem of state impunity in the kingdom's Muslim-majority southernmost provinces, where conflict has rumbled for years between government forces and separatist insurgents.

The conflict has seen more than 7,000 people killed since January 2004 and numerous allegations of abuses by Thai security forces - none of whom have ever been jailed for extrajudicial killings or torture in the region.

Victims' families and survivors held events on Friday, the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, to demand justice.

 - AFP