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BANGKOK: Thai troops fired volleys of shots into the air Monday in clashes with protesters who drove buses at lines of soldiers during anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok, AFP reporters said.
Around 100 soldiers fired M-16 assault rifles in sustained bursts as they drove back the protesters who also hurled petrol bombs at security forces, the correspondents said.
They said that the protesters set on fire at least two buses parked near gas canisters.
Soldiers approached with a water cannon to douse the flames, but protesters drove at least two hijacked buses towards them, sending them scattering before they regrouped and formed a phalanx to advance down a main thoroughfare.
The several hundred protesters dispersed in the face of the concerted assault and headed back to Victory Monument, a landmark in the capital which has been the focus of anti-government rallies.
The army pursued them, reinforced by several hundred more troops, and successfully cleared the monument of all the "Red Shirt" protesters who are supporters of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
At another protest hot spot nearby, another group of 100 soldiers fired tear gas at a small group of demonstrators.
Abhisit issued an emergency decree in and around Bangkok on Sunday to curb mass protests against his government, a day after demonstrators forced the humiliating cancellation of a major Asian summit at the Pattaya beach resort.
Thailand has endured years of political turmoil but this is the biggest crisis that Abhisit has faced since he came to power in December, following a controversial court ruling that drove Thaksin's allies out of office.
"Abhisit, are you still a human being? This is a most inhuman act, to crack down on unarmed protesters," protest leader Jatuporn Prompan told supporters at Government House.
Emergency services said at least 70 people were injured -- including 23 soldiers -- but no one was killed. Two people suffered gunshot wounds.
Army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd accused the “Red Shirts” of opening fire first and of trying to crash a car into the lines of soldiers.
"We will start with soft measures and proceed to harder ones. We will avoid loss of life as instructed by the government," he told AFP.
"Protesters fired tear gas, molotov cocktails and fired at soldiers, prompting soldiers to fire tear gas and shots in the air to warn the protesters," he said.
It is the first time the army has taken action since Abhisit ordered tanks and soldiers onto the streets of Bangkok on Sunday. The military refused to enforce emergency decrees by previous pro-Thaksin governments last year.
The British-born premier appeared on television overnight flanked by the chiefs of the army, navy, air force and a senior police officer in a show of unity.
He is under intense pressure to curb the unrest after the "Red Shirt" protesters stormed the venue of an Asian summit Saturday, forcing it to be cancelled and leaders to be evacuated -- some by helicopter.
The trouble moved to Bangkok Sunday, where demonstrators attacked a convoy carrying Abhisit out of the interior ministry, and fired shots in the air after police arrested the leader of the summit raid.
Thais should be celebrating the nation's main festival, the New Year holiday of Songkran, with three days of public holidays beginning Monday. Bangkok authorities scrapped all official celebrations because of the unrest.
Train services out of Bangkok were also cancelled after protesters blocked a main line.
Demonstrations also reportedly spread to northern Thailand, Thaksin's stronghold, where he is popular among the rural poor. He remains loathed by the Bangkok-based power centres of the palace, military and bureaucracy.
Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, stoked up his followers by phone late Sunday, saying: "You don't have to be frightened of this state of emergency."
- AFP/yt
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