Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 10 dead
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 10 dead
By GRANT PECK,Associated Press Writer -
Sunday, April 11
Send
IM Story
Print
BANGKOK – Thai soldiers and police fought pitched battles Saturday night with anti-government demonstrators in streets enveloped in tear gas, but troops later retreated and asked protesters to do the same. Ten people were killed, including a Japanese journalist, and more than 500 wounded, according to hospital officials.
The army had vowed to clear the "Red Shirt" protesters out of one of their two bases in Bangkok by nightfall, but the push instead set off street fighting. There was a continuous sound of gunfire and explosions, mostly from Molotov cocktails. After more than two hours of fierce clashes, the soldiers pulled back.
Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd went on national television Saturday night to ask the protesters to retreat as well. He also accused them of firing live rounds and throwing grenades during the fighting.
"The security forces have now retreated to a certain extent from the Red Shirts," Sansern said. He said a senior government official had been asked to coordinate with the protesters to restore peace and urged them to back away to avoid more violence.
The Red Shirt protesters are demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve Parliament and call new elections. Their demonstrations are part of a long-running battle between the mostly poor and rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the ruling elite they say orchestrated the 2006 military coup that removed him from power.
The Red Shirts see the Oxford-educated Abhisit as a symbol of an elite impervious to the plight of Thailand's poor and claim he took office illegitimately in December 2008 after the military pressured Parliament to vote for him.
The government's Erawan emergency center said tallies from four Bangkok hospitals showed the death toll Saturday evening had risen to at least 10.
Among them was a Japanese journalist who worked for Thomson Reuters news agency, said Pichaya Nakwatchara, the director of BMA General Hospital. He said several of the dead appeared to have been hit by hard objects on the head and some had gunshot wounds.
The protesters marched the body of a man they said was killed in the fighting to one of their encampments. They carried the man _ who had part of his head blown off _ on a stretcher.
The injury toll for the day rose to 521, according to the Erawan emergency center. The army said any live rounds were fired only into the air, but confirmed that two of its soldiers had been shot. Government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said more than 60 troops had been injured.
Most of Saturday's fighting took place around Democracy Monument, which is near one of the encampments of the Red Shirt protesters. But it spread to the Khao San Road area, a favorite of foreign backpackers.
Soldiers made repeated charges to clear the Red Shirts, while some tourists stood by watching. Two protesters and a Buddhist monk with them were badly beaten by soldiers and taken away by ambulance.
A Japanese tourist who was wearing a red shirt was also clubbed by soldiers until bystanders rescued him.
Red Shirt leaders at the second rally site in the capital's main shopping district said they were leading followers to reinforce their comrades at the site of the fighting.
Government forces have confronted the protesters before but pulled back rather than risk bloodshed.
On Friday, the army failed to prevent demonstrators from breaking into the compound of a satellite transmission station and briefly restarting a pro-Red Shirt television station that had been shut down by the government under a state of emergency. The humiliating rout of troops and riot police raised questions about how much control Abhisit has over the police and army.
To effectively confront the protesters, Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee of Chulalongkorn University said the government needs the cooperation of the military, but the army may be reluctant to use force against the protesters.
Thailand's military has traditionally played a major role in politics, staging almost a score of coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.
On Saturday afternoon, army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the military planned to clear out the protesters from their original rally site in the old section of Bangkok by dusk. More troops were also sent to the second rally site in the heart of Bangkok's upscale shopping district. The city's elevated mass transit system known as the Skytrain, which runs past that site, stopped running and closed all its stations.
The deployment came after protesters were pushed back by water cannons and rubber bullets from the headquarters of the 1st Army Region. Although they have two main rally sites, the Red Shirts use trucks and motorcycles to send followers all over the city on short notice.
Arrest warrants have been issued for 27 Red Shirt leaders, but none is known to have been taken into custody.
Merchants say the demonstrations have cost them hundreds of millions of baht (tens of millions of dollars), and luxury hotels near the site have been under virtual siege.
___
Associated Press writers Denis D. Gray, Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
US seeks to smooth relations with Afghan leader AP - 39 minutes ago
Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 15 dead AP - 55 minutes ago
3 Italians among 9 held in alleged Afghan plot AP - 1 hour 11 minutes ago
Kyrgyz ponder whether to abandon Bakiyev AP - 1 hour 16 minutes ago
Fifteen dead, hundreds injured in Bangkok clashes AFP - 2 hours 12 minutes ago
News Search
Top Stories
McCoy breaks Grand National jinx on Don't Push It
Eurogroup ministers to discuss Greece soon
EU leaders back Greece, markets bet on bailout
US Supreme Court Justice Stevens retires
Supreme Court justice to retire, Obama gets new pick
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Most Recommended
Two-million-year-old hominid sheds light on evolution
Taiwan's male 'Susan Boyle' a web sensation
EU leaders back Greece, markets bet on bailout
Supreme Court justice to retire, Obama gets new pick
Legendary Soviet diplomat Dobrynin dead at 90
More Most Viewed »
'Rare' fossil of new dinosaur species found in US
Two-million-year-old hominid sheds light on evolution
Taiwan's male 'Susan Boyle' a web sensation
Junkies and junk-food addicts share craving mechanism
Toad is a telltale for impending quakes: scientists
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Asia Entertainment
Photos
World Cup 2010
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Sunday, 11 April 2010 US, Afghanistan try to move on from Karzai fraud row
Top Spanish judge appeals indictment
Polish president, top officials killed in plane crash
|
Fraud warnings intensify on eve of Sudan elections
Eurogroup ministers to discuss Greece soon
Two inmates escape after attack on Iran jail
McCoy breaks Grand National jinx on Don't Push It
Iraq bombs kill child, four police and soldiers
Polish president killed in plane disaster
Twelve die as troops, protesters clash in Bangkok
|
Polish president's plane crashes in Russia: ministry
Ten die as Russian helicopter hit by avalanche
|
Three Senior Citizens Arrested For Attempted Burglary Of Ex-Mob Boss Home
Pope did not impede defrocking of abuse priest: Vatican
|
Two Fighter Jets In Near-Collision With Commercial Airliner Over Ohio
Obamas Nominee For Legal Counsel Post Withdraws
Pakistani jets kill 45 people in Khyber: militants
|
Chicago Rejects Islamic School, Muslim Group Sues
Two inmates escape after attack on Iran jail: reports
|
Update: "No Miracle" As Final Bodies Recovered At Upper Branch Mine
Brazil opposition parties endorse Serra candidacy
|
Fraud warnings intensify on eve of Sudan elections
|
E. coli kills 1 child, sickens 3 at Wash. day care
Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 10 dead
AP: Future pope stalled Calif. pedophile case
Reuters journalist killed in Bangkok protests
Hospital official: 10 killed in Thai clashes
Fifteen dead, hundreds injured in Bangkok clashes
Bangladesh won't grant Rohingya refugee status
Thai troops pull back from protest clashes; 5 dead
China's $7.24B March trade deficit 1st in 6 years
2 Italians among 9 held in alleged Afghan plot
Officials say Pakistani strikes kill 96 militants
Hospital official: 5 killed in Thai clashes
Bangladesh claims disputed vanishing island
Croatia's anti-smoking measures get more strict
Glitz and glam eclipse hybrids at Lebanon car fest
Shroud of Turin on display for first time in decade
Date Night takes early lead at box office
|
Rights groups urge action over Afghan amnesty law
Italy charity workers held over Afghan 'plot'
Poland mourns president, elite killed in crash
|
Kuwait deports 17 pro-ElBaradei Egyptians
Thai red shirts defiant after 20 die in clashes
|
Iran backs unity government in Iraq with Sunnis
American teen aims for Everest record
Pakistani forces kill 12 militants in Orakzai
|
Twitter Buys 'Tweetie' iPhone App Firm
Sudan set for historic vote, security tight
IMF chief plays down raising inflation targets
Pakistan in spotlight at Washington nuclear summit
|
Iraq bombs kill child, four security men
Sudan set for historic vote, security tight
|
Kyrgyzstan opposition denies talks with Bakiyev
|
Iran backs unity government in Iraq with Sunnis
|
News
Haiti starts moving quake victims to safer refuge
|
Thai "red shirts" defiant after 20 die in clashes
In Kandahar, coaxing Afghan police into training
|
Grieving begins, but life goes on at W.Va. mines
Former AP newsman Ghafur Fadyl dies in Indonesia
Blast rocks US consulate in Mexico
Militants attacks Indian camp in Afghanistan
News
Japanese pacifist playwright dies: family
Australia orders spy agencies to probe Dubai hit
India shipping firms seek new anti-pirate strategy
S.Korea in mass cull over foot-and-mouth disease
Gunmen kill police officer in NW Pakistan
News
With saw, screwdriver, China doctor gives gift of height
Shroud of Turin displayed for first time in decade
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
"Date Night" takes early lead at box office
Risk of Japan going bankrupt is real, say analysts
Toyota could face a second US fine: document
Designing Women actress Dixie Carter dies
|
Iran to complain to U.N. over Obama nuclear "threat"
Nazi camp Buchenwald marks 65 years since liberation
Greece to raise fresh loans, hopes EU seals debt plan
Italy charity workers held over Afghan 'assassination plot'
Four civilians, one soldier killed in Afghan blasts
News
Iraq PM's bloc says fraud may have cost it 750,000 votes
|
Iran to mass produce speedier centrifuges
Iran to complain to U.N. over Obama nuclear threat
|
4 civilians killed, 14 injured in Afghan bomb
Indonesia police detain six suspected militants
|
Israeli groups decry army West Bank deportation rules
|
At ISS, Discovery astronauts conclude first spacewalk
New clouds form over UN climate strategy
Australian teen on course for sailing record
Kyrgyz leader: no guarantees for ousted ruler
Ousted Kyrgyz leader: UN should send peackeepers
Clergy who conceal abuse should be dismissed: cardinal
|
Thai protesters reject talks after deadly clashes
Pakistani jets kill 45 people in Khyber
Afghan president urges Taliban to air grievances
Worries about Calif. priest came early in career
Filipino troops battle communist rebels, 6 killed
News
7.1-magnitude quake strikes off Solomon Islands
Seven Wounded In New Orleans Shooting
Report Reveals Nuclear Sub Navigator Listening To iPod During Collision With Ship
Damascus seeks to balance ancient with new
News
News
Six terror suspects arrested in Indonesia: police
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights