Grenades wound dozens in Bangkok
Source: Agencies |
April 23, 2010, Friday
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AT least five grenades exploded yesterday in the center of Bangkok near a massive encampment of anti-government protesters, killing one person and wounding at least 70, sending panicked people running through the streets and fleeing an elevated train station.
The area of the explosions has been the site of a tense standoff between Red Shirt protesters, who are demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resign, and armed troops over the past several days.
More recently, a rival group of protesters has rallied in the area, occasionally hurling stones and insults at the Red Shirts, creating a volatile mix. Several of the blasts were near where the rivals have gathered, under the elevated tracks of a Skytrain station.
Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said five M-79 grenades were fired from grenade launchers. Three fell through the roof of the station, which runs above Silom Road, the center of Bangkok's business district. A fourth exploded on the pavement near the five-star Dusit Thani Hotel and the fifth near a bank, he said.
TV stations reported several more blasts. Previously, explosions at the site have been from fireworks.
The government's Erawan emergency center said the blasts killed one person, identified as a Thai woman, and wounded at least 70.
The TPBS television network reported three foreigners were among the wounded. Associated Press reporters saw at least four people injured, two with seriously wounded who were not moving.
The streets were full of people tending to the injured and carrying away bloodied people.
The Red Shirts, who believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately and are pushing for him to call elections immediately, have rallied in the streets for several weeks. Yesterday the army warned that time was running out for the protesters to clear the streets, saying soldiers would crack down soon.
"To take people in Bangkok hostage is not right," army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd warned the Red Shirts. "Your time to leave the area is running out."
The army has issued several warnings that it will move to break up the protests if they are not ended voluntarily.
They are already in violation of several laws, including a state of emergency.
A Red Shirt protest leader denied the group had any involvement in the blasts. "The explosions had nothing to do with us," said Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader, who suggested the blame could lie with a variety of other groups, including the rival protesters, the government, the army or the police.
Prospects for a peaceful solution to the political crisis appear slim, and every night brings a new flurry of rumors of an imminent crackdown.
A failed April 10 attempt by security forces in Bangkok to flush protesters from their first encampment erupted into the worst political violence Thailand has seen in 18 years, with 25 people dead.
The area of the explosions has been the site of a tense standoff between Red Shirt protesters, who are demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resign, and armed troops over the past several days.
More recently, a rival group of protesters has rallied in the area, occasionally hurling stones and insults at the Red Shirts, creating a volatile mix. Several of the blasts were near where the rivals have gathered, under the elevated tracks of a Skytrain station.
Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said five M-79 grenades were fired from grenade launchers. Three fell through the roof of the station, which runs above Silom Road, the center of Bangkok's business district. A fourth exploded on the pavement near the five-star Dusit Thani Hotel and the fifth near a bank, he said.
TV stations reported several more blasts. Previously, explosions at the site have been from fireworks.
The government's Erawan emergency center said the blasts killed one person, identified as a Thai woman, and wounded at least 70.
The TPBS television network reported three foreigners were among the wounded. Associated Press reporters saw at least four people injured, two with seriously wounded who were not moving.
The streets were full of people tending to the injured and carrying away bloodied people.
The Red Shirts, who believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately and are pushing for him to call elections immediately, have rallied in the streets for several weeks. Yesterday the army warned that time was running out for the protesters to clear the streets, saying soldiers would crack down soon.
"To take people in Bangkok hostage is not right," army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd warned the Red Shirts. "Your time to leave the area is running out."
The army has issued several warnings that it will move to break up the protests if they are not ended voluntarily.
They are already in violation of several laws, including a state of emergency.
A Red Shirt protest leader denied the group had any involvement in the blasts. "The explosions had nothing to do with us," said Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader, who suggested the blame could lie with a variety of other groups, including the rival protesters, the government, the army or the police.
Prospects for a peaceful solution to the political crisis appear slim, and every night brings a new flurry of rumors of an imminent crackdown.
A failed April 10 attempt by security forces in Bangkok to flush protesters from their first encampment erupted into the worst political violence Thailand has seen in 18 years, with 25 people dead.
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