Thai troops fired bullets and tear gas at anti-government protesters rioting near the US and Japanese embassies yesterday as an army push to clear the streets sparked clashes that have killed two and turned central Bangkok into a virtual war zone.
Periodic bursts of gunfire, coming from soldiers and apparently from inside the ?ed Shirt?protesters?camp echoed around eerily empty streets and high-rises in the central business district.
Violence since late on Thursday has also wounded at least 20 people, including two Thai journalists and a Canadian reporter, who was in a serious condition.
PHOTO: REUTERS
With security deteriorating and hopes of a peaceful resolution to the two-month standoff fading, the unrest plunged Thailand deeper into political uncertainty, threatening the country? stability, economy and already-decimated tourism industry.
Violence escalated after a rogue army general regarded as a military adviser to the Red Shirt protesters was shot in the head on Thursday evening, possibly by a sniper, leaving him in critical condition.
Yesterday? violence was initially centered on a small area home to several foreign embassies, but by mid-afternoon had spread around the 3km?protest zone barricaded with bamboo stakes and tires.
Soldiers crouched behind a raised road divider in one area and fired rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas shells. Army vehicles were seen speeding on deserted streets littered with stones and debris. Protesters retreated and hurled rocks and insults.
Fighting has now killed 31 people and injured hundreds since the Red Shirts, mostly rural poor, began camping in the capital on March 12 in a bid to force out Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. They say his coalition government came to power illegitimately through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military, which in 2006 forced the populist former Thai prime minister favored by the Red Shirts, Thaksin Shinawatra, from office in a coup.
The latest death came yesterday, when a 33-year-old man died of a gunshot wound linked to the protests, a doctor at Kluay Namthai Hospital, Suwinai Busarakamwong, said.
A Thai cameraman from the VoiceTV news Web site was shot in his left thigh and a photographer for the Matichon newspaper was shot in the leg, the news outlets said.
Canadian journalist Nelson Rand was hit by three bullets and was in ?ery serious?condition, France 24 news channel correspondent Cyril Payen reported. One bullet perforated his leg, another hit his abdomen, another hit his wrist. Payen said Rand lost a lot of blood and was undergoing an operation that would take several hours.
Last week, Abhisit offered November elections, raising hopes that a compromise could be reached with the Red Shirts, who have been demanding immediate elections. Those hopes were dashed after Red Shirt leaders made more demands.
Late on Thursday, the army moved to seal off the Red Shirt 苟ncampment in an upscale commercial district of the capital. Around 10,000 protesters, women and children among them, have crammed into the area.
?e are being surrounded. We are being crushed. The soldiers are closing in on us. This is not a civil war yet, but it? very, very cruel,?protest leader Weng Tojirakarn said.
Yesterday morning, protesters captured and vandalized two military water cannon trucks at a key intersection in the business district, just outside the Red Shirt encampment, which is fortified with bamboo stakes and tires. They ripped the cannon from its moorings and used its plastic barrel to shoot firecrackers from behind a sandbag bunker they had commandeered from soldiers.
They later set fire to tires and a police bus that sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky. Soldiers fired automatic rifles repeatedly.
The worst violence was concentrated on a small area around the Red Shirt encampment, close to the US and Japanese embassies, which were closed to the public. The British, New Zealand and Dutch embassies, which are in the vicinity, were also shut.
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