Thai protesters storm hospital

A THAI hospital had to evacuate hundreds of patients yesterday after anti-government protesters stormed in to hunt for security forces they suspected were hiding inside.

A group of Red Shirts barged into Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital despite pleas from its director, then withdrew after failing to find soldiers or police within the sprawling compound.

The brief raid was a public relations error for the Red Shirts, who insist they are simply peaceful protesters trying to overthrow a government they see as illegitimate – although the seven-week stand-off in the capital has already sparked the country’s worst political violence in nearly 20 years.