THAILAND: Thai army says situation under control at anti-government protest site in Bangkok/ At least four dead in offensive

Record ID: 644259

  • Title: THAILAND: Thai army says situation under control at anti-government protest site in Bangkok/ At least four dead in offensive
  • Date: 20th May 2010
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (MAY 19, 2010) (REUTERS) STREET IN FRONT OF HOSPITAL WHERE BARRICADE OF TYRES IS BURNING SOLDIERS WALKING TO TAKE POSITION MEDIC TEAM CARRYING BODY OUT OF PROTEST CAMP BODY BEING CARRIED AND PUT ON TRUCK MEDIC TEAM IN ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTEST CAMP SOLDIERS SITTING AND STANDING INSIDE PROTEST CAMP SOLDIERS AND MEDIC TEAM STANDING VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS WALKING IN PROTEST CAMP PROTESTERS' TENTS PLACARD READING AS "STOP DOUBLE STANDARD, DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT" PLACARD SHOWING THAKSIN'S PICTURE AND READING IN THAI AS " WE LOVE YOU FROM RESIDENT OF SOI LUECHA." POOL OF BLOOD ON FLOOR SHATTERED CAR WINDOW AND BULLET HOLE SOLDIERS SHOWING M60 BULLET AND AMMUNITION VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS SHOWING M60 AND AMMUNITION SOLDIERS TAKING POSITION VARIOUS OF FIRE EXTINGUISHER SPRAYING WATER ON DEBRIS VARIOUS OF SMOKE SEEN ON RAMA VI ROAD VARIOUS OF ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIERS PARKED AT RAMA IIV STATUE
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6O995WLELFVROMJW31T1IR0P6
  • Story Text: The Thai army says the situation at the anti-government protest camp after police broke through a makeshift barricade is under control. The clashes have killed at least four people and wounded dozens.
    The Thai army said it had gained partial control of the protest encampment in Bangkok in an operation that killed at least four people and wounded 50.
    Thai troops and armoured vehicles broke through barricades of tyres and bamboo sticks on Wednesday (May 19) in a final offensive to evict thousands of anti-government protesters from their camp in central Bangkok, witnesses said.
    Troops fired tear gas and automatic rifles at the red-shirted protesters, as armoured vehicles advanced from the business district through a barricaded intersection and stopped before closing in on an area where an estimated 3,000 demonstrators were rallying and refusing to leave.
    At least two demonstrators were shot, one in the chest while trying to help a fellow protester. The "red shirts" responded by firing at soldiers, a Reuters witness said. A police hospital said at least eight people had been wounded.
    Some troops were seen firing from an overpass as army officials blocked journalists from entering the area.
    Four senior Thai "red shirt" protest leaders were seen in police custody on Thai television after the military offensive.
    Red-shirt protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, urged supporters through blaring loudspeakers to give up and go home. He was in police custody as he spoke.
    Another prominent red-shirt leader, Jatuporn Prompan, was seen on television being escorted to a police station.
    Protesters ignited walls of tyres as the troops arrived, causing thick black smoke to billow high over skyscrapers and camouflaging thousands of demonstrators who have occupied the heart of Bangkok's commercial district for more than six weeks.
    Troops earlier used bullhorns and loudspeakers to urge protesters and civilians to leave, as military helicopters circled overhead.
    The military offensive came a day after the collapse of a proposal for talks aimed at ending five days of chaotic street fighting that descended into urban warfare, which killed 39 people and wounded more than 300.
    The violence in Bangkok, one of the world's most popular city tourism destinations, has killed nearly 70 people and wounded more than 1,700 since the protests began in mid-March, raising concerns about the stability of the Southeast Asian nation.
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