TIMES ONLINE: Thai troops have opened fire on anti-government protesters and more than 20 are dead after a a third day of bloody clashes on the streets of Bangkok.
The army offensive against the thousands of Red Shirt demonstrators occupying a sprawling encampment in the city’s commercial district escalated on Saturday.
Soldiers started moving in on Thursday but their attempts to disperse the camp have been met with fierce resistance, resulting in increasingly bloody street battles.
Crowds of protesters hurled homemade rockets, petrol bombs and burning tires at the advancing troops, who returned fire with live rounds of ammunition.
An estimated 22 people, all civilians, have been killed in the last three days and at least 161 injured.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke on national TV, on Saturday afternoon, promising to restore order to the city with “minimum loss of life”.
However he stood by the military action and claimed that the protesters, who are calling for him to resign, had been infiltrated by “terrorists”.
Abhisit said: “The government must move forward. We cannot retreat because we are doing things that will benefit the entire country. >>> Robin Henry | Sunday, May 16, 2010
Lien en relation avec l'article ici
