Gunshots fired around Bangkok's interior ministry compound
Posted: 12 April 2009 1632 hrs

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BANGKOK : Protesters in Bangkok fired shots into the air and chased Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva from the interior ministry Sunday, smashing paving slabs against the car they thought he was in.

An AFP reporter at the scene saw protesters give chase, then one grabbed a gun from a security guard and fired into the air.

It came minutes after Abhisit, speaking at the ministry, announced a state of emergency in and around the capital.

"I am safe, not hurt but one of my officials was detained. I want them to release him so that he can receive treatment as he is injured," Abhisit told reporters by telephone.

Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered at the ministry compound, and local television showed pictures of a red-shirted mob armed with sticks and paving slabs smashing a car they believed carried the prime minister.

Abhisit escaped with his deputy Suthep Thaungsuban, who was travelling in a separate car.

Suthep has been placed in charge of implementing the emergency measures. "I have already come out of the interior ministry along with the prime minister," he told local television.

"It is necessary to impose a state of emergency as these people are staging a riot and unconstitutional rally."

An official at Bangkok's emergency medical centre said ambulances had been sent to the scene because there were a number of injuries. - AFP/ms