Bangkok burns as protest crushed

Using live ammunition yesterday, troops dispersed thousands of Red Shirt protesters who had been camped in the capital's premier shopping and residential district for weeks.

Five protesters and an Italian news photographer were killed in the ensuing gun battles and about 60 wounded.

After Red Shirt leaders gave themselves up to police, rioters set fires at the Stock Exchange, several banks, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, Central World – one of Asia's biggest shopping malls – and a cinema that burned to ground. There were reports of looting.

Firefighters retreated after protesters shot guns at them, and thick smoke drifted across the sky of this city of 10 million people.

Sporadic clashes between troops and protesters continued in the night at the site of former protest camp.

The chaos in Bangkok in the wake of the two-month protest will deepen the severe impact dealt to the economy and tourism industry of Thailand, a key US ally and long considered one of the more stable countries in south-east Asia. The Red Shirts, mostly rural poor, had demanded the ousting of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, the dissolution of Parliament and new elections.

A 10-hour curfew came into force in Bangkok and 18 other provinces at 8pm, and the government said army operations would continue through the night in the Thai capital.

It is the first time Bangkok had been put under curfew since 1992, when the army killed dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators seeking the ousting of a military-backed government.

The government also imposed a partial media blackout on local TV stations, saying all of them will have to air government-prepared bulletins.

Protesters had already turned their rage on the local media, which they have accused of pro-government coverage. They attacked the offices of state-run Channel 3, setting fire to cars outside and puncturing water pipes that flooded the building.

"At Channel 3 need urgent help from police, soldiers!!!" tweeted news anchor Patcharasri Benjamasa. "News cars were smashed and they are about to invade the building."

Hours later its building was on fire. Its executives were evacuated by helicopter and police rescued other staff.

The English-language Bangkok Post newspaper evacuated its staff after threats from the Red Shirts. A large office building down the street from the Post was set afire.

Thailand's stock exchange would be closed for the rest of the week after rioters set the building's ground floor on fire, its president, Patareeya Benjapolchai, told reporters.

The exchange, where about 600 million dollars of shares change hands each day, might reopen on Monday, she said. The central bank,

meanwhile, said all financial institutions in Bangkok including commercial banks would be shut today and Friday.

Unrest also spread to the rural northeast and north of the country, where Red Shirts, who claim Mr Abhisit's government is elitist and oblivious to their plight, retain strong support.

Protesters set fire to government offices in the city of Udon Thani and vandalised a city hall in Khon Kaen. Udon Thani's governor asked the military to intervene. TV images showed troops retreating after being attacked by mobs in Ubon Ratchathani. There were also reports of fires and other unrest in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thailand's third largest.

At least 74 people have been killed and nearly 1,800 injured since the Red Shirts descended on Bangkok in mid-March to press their demands. Many are supporters of populist former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.