Buildings smouldered across central Bangkok early today and troops exchanged sporadic fire with pockets of die-hards a day after the army routed anti-government protesters in a push to end Thailand’s deadliest political violence in nearly 20 years.

Security forces and agitated protesters faced off at a major intersection after bloody grenade attacks rattled Thailand’s chaotic capital – a scene of tense, weeks-long confrontations between die-hard demonstrators and a wavering government.