Bloodshed on streets as army moves in on protest

Eight people were killed and dozens more injured as the army took the first steps in trying to clear the thousands of Red Shirt demonstrators from Bangkok.

As night fell explosions and the sound of gunfire rattled around the central business district.

Several grenades hit a nearby shopping centre and rail station. Plumes of black smoke hung over the neighbourhood as tyres burned in empty streets while onlookers ducked for cover.

Among those wounded were two Thai journalists and a Canadian reporter, who was in a serious condition.

With security deteriorating and hopes of a peaceful resolution increasingly unlikely, what was once one of South-East Asia's most stable democracies has been thrust deep into political uncertainty. The crisis threatens its stability, economy and tourism industry.

Violence escalated after a rogue army general regarded who supported the Red Shirt protesters was shot in the head yesterday, possibly by a sniper. Doctors said Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol was still in a coma and could die "at any moment."

"We are being surrounded. We are being crushed. The soldiers are closing in on us. This is not a civil war yet, but it's very, very cruel," protest leader Weng Tojirakarn said.

Fighting has now killed 37 people and injured hundreds since the Red Shirts, mostly rural poor, began camping in the capital on March 12, in a bid to force out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

They claim his coalition government came to power illegally through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the military, which in 2006 forced the populist premier favoured by the Red Shirts, Thaksin Shinawatra, from office in a coup.

Last week, Mr Abhisit offered November elections, raising hopes that a compromise could be reached with the Red Shirts, who want immediate elections. Those hopes were dashed when talks collapsed.

Late last night the army moved to seal off the Red Shirt barricaded encampment which covers a square mile in an upmarket commercial district of the capital. Some 10,000 protesters, women and children among them, have crammed into the area.

Protesters captured and vandalised two military water cannon trucks at a key junction in the business district, just outside the Red Shirt encampment, which is fortified with bamboo stakes and tyres.

They ripped the cannon from its moorings and used its plastic barrel to shoot fireworks from behind a sandbag bunker they had commandeered from soldiers.

They later set fire to tyres and a police bus that sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky. Soldiers fired automatic rifles repeatedly.

Among Friday's casualties, a Thai TV cameraman was shot in his thigh and a photographer was shot in the leg.

A Canadian freelance working for the France 24 news channel was hit three times. One bullet perforated his leg, another hit his abdomen, another hit his wrist. He underwent surgery and was recovering.

The violence was concentrated on a small area around the Red Shirt encampment, close to the American and Japanese embassies, which were closed to the public.

The British embassy in Bangkok also closed yesterday in response to an upsurge of violence in the Thai capital.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Our embassy will continue to monitor developments in Bangkok in order to provide British nationals with the most up-to-date information.

"British nationals in Thailand requiring consular advice can continue to contact our embassy via our telephone hotline, which is staffed at all times.

"We will keep the situation under review."

The nearby New Zealand and Dutch embassies were also shut.

The British Foreign Office was already advising against all but essential travel to Bangkok.

The two-day clashes marked the worst continuous episode of violence since April 10, when 25 people were killed and more than 800 injured in clashes between Red Shirts and troops.