Both government and protesters mourned their dead after savage street fighting killed 21 people in Thailand’s capital, but neither side appeared ready to compromise to end a five-year political stalemate that threatens more violence.

Red-shirted protesters hurled plastic bags filled with gallons of their own blood into the residential compound of the Thai prime minister today, hoping their shock tactics would bring down his government.

Thailand’s embattled prime minister has dismissed calls for his resignation, saying that stepping down would not resolve the country’s deepening political crisis.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said today his country has taken “a wise decision and a courageous step” to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction, but denied he had caved in to pressure from Britain and America.