Thai troops charged at protesters on Monday, a day after the state of emergency was announced in Bangkok. The current and raging anti-government demonstrations are posing a tough challenge to the Thai government at the moment. At least 94 people were injured and two people were killed because of the civil unrest.
Throughout the day, soldiers fired their weapons repeatedly to dissolve the groups of demonstrators that kept reappearing in several areas of the capital.
The government announced it had taken measures to ensure its control over the ports and airports, to prevent recurrence of the incidents like those that occurred late last year when thousands of protesters seized the two airport terminals in Bangkok for a week.
“The Emergency Operations Command will use all available means to quickly restore order and reopen the traffic so that people can resume their lives,” said the head of the Armed Forces, Songkitti Jaggabatara, after an urgent meeting with senior military leaders and police. “The troops and police have managed to clear protesters from many parts of the city,” said government spokesman Panithan Wattayanakorn.
In a clash in the Din Daeng junction, the ‘Red Shirts,’ named for the color of the clothes they wear, threw molotov cocktails at the military forces and burned buses when the latter fired tear gas to stun the protesting crowds. Soldiers also fired directly into the crowds.
A state of emergency was declared in Bangkok and its five surrounding provinces on Sunday, a day after the Asean summit was canceled because the venue was raided by the ‘Red Shirts’ who demanded the resignation of the Executive and the dissolution of Parliament.
Via BBC
