Troops Fire Into Crowds in Bangkok

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Sat May 15, 2010 at 02:29:48 PM EST
Tags: Bangkok (all tags)

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There's urban warfare in Bangkok.

Soldiers fired live rounds at demonstrators who fought back with petrol bombs, rocks and crude homemade rockets in two major areas of the city as the army tried to enforce a security cordon around a sprawling protest encampment in central Bangkok.

"We will not retreat," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a televised statement. "We cannot allow the country to be in a condition in which people can establish an armed group to topple the government that they are not happy with."

The "Red shirt" protesters are "made up of the rural and urban poor" who support former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The death toll is rising.

The protesters are far outnumbered by the military which is blocking food and water from reaching them. I hope this ends quickly.

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Troops Fire Into Crowds in Bangkok | 3 comments (3 topical)

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Armed Group? (none / 0) (#1)
by squeaky on Sat May 15, 2010 at 02:36:29 PM EST

Sounds to me that the "armed group" that is not to be tolerated is the military.

This is going to turn out badly, imo, especially the Thailand Gov.

: Im sure certain (none / 0) (#2)
by jondee on Sat May 15, 2010 at 02:50:24 PM EST

human rights advocates, who like to obsess about woman and gays in the countries neocon weasels and John Hagee want to attack will be all over this..
This is another instance of a backward, corrupt govet brutally oppressing it's own people, after all..

Thailand coverage (none / 0) (#3)
by lambert on Sat May 15, 2010 at 04:03:52 PM EST

We've been posting on Thailand since 2009, sometimes from the ground. Here's a report on a visit to the Red Shirt encampment in Bangkok, before the blow-up.