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Thai police confront ‘red shirts’

THAILAND: Hundreds of Thai riot police moved on Friday in front of a barricade erected by anti-government protesters in Bangkok’s Silom business district, a day after grenade attacks in the area killed three people.

Thai television said police asked the “red shirts” to dismantle the barrier. They made no move to do so, and TV pictures showed protesters pouring what a reporter said was fuel onto the barricade, which is made up largely of tyres.

The government said the grenades on Thursday, which also wounded 75 people, were fired from the red shirt protest area.

Leaders of the red shirts, who have been demonstrating in Bangkok for six weeks seeking new elections, denied they were to blame.

The grenade blasts came 12 days after clashes between troops and protesters killed 25 people and wounded more than 800 in the country’s worst street violence in 18 years.

The protesters, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have also been occupying an upmarket shopping area for three weeks.

Any attempt to disperse them risks heavy casualties and the prospect of clashes spilling into high-end residential areas.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said there would be no crackdown Thursday night because women and children were in the area.

Adding to the volatile mix, a new “multi-coloured” group is planning a demonstration of 50,000 people in Bangkok’s old quarter on Friday to demand the “red shirts” end their rally.

Demonstrations by this group have increased the tension in the Silom business district this week.

“There are now two conflicting groups and this kind of confrontation could create havoc and turmoil,” said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, politics and economics professor at Thammasat University.

Under growing pressure to restore order, the army warned the red shirts on Thursday their “days are numbered”.

Bangkok, Friday, Reuters

 

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