Twenty-two Killed in Bangkok's Bloody Street Battles
Thai soldiers open fire as they clash with Red Shirt anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Photograph: Times Online
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

Nato 60th Summit in Strasbourg Marred by Street Battles and Arson
THE TELEGRAPH: Buildings were set on fire and running battles were fought between protesters and riot police in the streets of Strasbourg, where Barack Obama and world leaders have gathered for a Nato summit.

A violent anti-NATO protest takes place during NATO's 60th-anniversary summit. Anti-NATO activists set up a barricade with a Strasbourg road sign, near the German border at the Europe bridge, east of Strasbourg. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Anarchists and demonstrators set fires at a hotel, a disused border post and a tourism office around Strasbourg's Pont de l'Europe, a bridge that joins France and Germany.

Police fired volleys of teargas to try to stop groups of violent French and German protesters joining forces to rampage across the city.

Masked youths threw petrol bombs, smashed windows and ransacked shops, forcing police to retreat until riot officers could regroup to seize back control.

Eyewitnesses saw black-clad protesters storm the nearby Ibis hotel, pilfering alcohol from its bar and setting the building ablaze.

"The hotel and the other buildings were completely engulfed in flames," said a resident of the city who witnessed the mayhem. >>> By Bruno Waterfield and Peter Allen in Strasbourg | Saturday, April 4, 2009