Thai troops open fire on mob as Bangkok battle goes to suburbs
Source: Agencies |
April 29, 2010, Thursday
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THAI troops fired rifles and threw tear gas at a crowd of anti-government protesters riding motorbikes down a busy expressway yesterday, blocking efforts to take the demonstrations that have paralyzed central Bangkok into the suburbs.
The confrontation killed one soldier - apparently from friendly fire - and wounded 18 other people as it transformed suburban streets into a battle zone.
Heavily armed troops took cover behind terrified commuters' cars and one driver clasped her hands in prayer as the soldiers weaved their way through traffic.
The bloodshed yesterday was the first violent confrontation in nearly a week, and protest leaders accused the government of leading the nation to the brink of civil war.
"Our side is running everything in order to create peace, but the government is trying to push war. And if they push war, civil war is coming," said Weng Tojirakarn, a leader of the Red Shirt protesters.
The Red Shirts, who want Parliament dissolved, have turned parts of Bangkok's commercial heart into a protest camp in their campaign to bring down a government they view as illegitimate.
Government officials want to end the standoff peacefully but cannot tolerate the protest enclave, which has forced the closure of some of the city's ritziest malls and hotels and cost businesses millions of dollars a day.
Authorities have so far resisted breaking through the Red Shirts' barricades and clearing them out of the city.
Yet patience appeared to be running out in the seven-week standoff that has killed at least 27 people and wounded nearly 1,000.
In an interview broadcast yesterday on BBC World News, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was working to quickly restore order.
"But at the same time we have to be aware of the need to make sure that there will be minimum losses and to make sure that we comply with international standards and respect the basic rights of people, including those of the protesters," he said.
In a challenge to authorities, who have said they will not tolerate demonstrations beyond the protest enclave, the Red Shirts sent hundreds of supporters on motorbikes and in pickup trucks yesterday to a rally at an outdoor market north of the capital and dared the army to act.
On the outskirts of the city, riot squads blocked the way with razor wire and fired rubber bullets and live rounds into the air to push protesters back. When several demonstrators tried to remove the razor wire, troops leveled their rifles and shot directly at them, apparently with rubber bullets, sending them fleeing into oncoming traffic.
"At this point, society finds it unacceptable to have protesters traveling in a motorcade like this," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. "We will follow them everywhere that there are movements like this."
Hundreds of police in black riot gear marched down the road behind shields to push back the demonstrators. One threw a tear gas canister from a highway overpass onto the demonstrators below.
The confrontation killed one soldier - apparently from friendly fire - and wounded 18 other people as it transformed suburban streets into a battle zone.
Heavily armed troops took cover behind terrified commuters' cars and one driver clasped her hands in prayer as the soldiers weaved their way through traffic.
The bloodshed yesterday was the first violent confrontation in nearly a week, and protest leaders accused the government of leading the nation to the brink of civil war.
"Our side is running everything in order to create peace, but the government is trying to push war. And if they push war, civil war is coming," said Weng Tojirakarn, a leader of the Red Shirt protesters.
The Red Shirts, who want Parliament dissolved, have turned parts of Bangkok's commercial heart into a protest camp in their campaign to bring down a government they view as illegitimate.
Government officials want to end the standoff peacefully but cannot tolerate the protest enclave, which has forced the closure of some of the city's ritziest malls and hotels and cost businesses millions of dollars a day.
Authorities have so far resisted breaking through the Red Shirts' barricades and clearing them out of the city.
Yet patience appeared to be running out in the seven-week standoff that has killed at least 27 people and wounded nearly 1,000.
In an interview broadcast yesterday on BBC World News, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was working to quickly restore order.
"But at the same time we have to be aware of the need to make sure that there will be minimum losses and to make sure that we comply with international standards and respect the basic rights of people, including those of the protesters," he said.
In a challenge to authorities, who have said they will not tolerate demonstrations beyond the protest enclave, the Red Shirts sent hundreds of supporters on motorbikes and in pickup trucks yesterday to a rally at an outdoor market north of the capital and dared the army to act.
On the outskirts of the city, riot squads blocked the way with razor wire and fired rubber bullets and live rounds into the air to push protesters back. When several demonstrators tried to remove the razor wire, troops leveled their rifles and shot directly at them, apparently with rubber bullets, sending them fleeing into oncoming traffic.
"At this point, society finds it unacceptable to have protesters traveling in a motorcade like this," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. "We will follow them everywhere that there are movements like this."
Hundreds of police in black riot gear marched down the road behind shields to push back the demonstrators. One threw a tear gas canister from a highway overpass onto the demonstrators below.
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