Grenade attack rattles Thai capital

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.

The late-night attacks killed at least one person and wounded 86, according to the government’s Erawan Emergency Centre, which handles victim counts in crises and disasters.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said three had died. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting accounts.

The attackers shot five M-79 grenades from near where anti-government Red Shirt protesters were encamped and the blasts struck areas where counter-demonstrators gathered, but the government stopped short of directly blaming the Red Shirts for the attack.

Thousands of mostly rural Red Shirts have been entrenched on Bangkok’s streets since March 12 in a campaign to dissolve Parliament and hold immediate elections, and Thailand’s powerful military warned them that time is running out to clear the streets or face a crackdown.

In New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern that the situation could escalate and called for dialogue, his spokesman said.

“This is a moment requiring restraint on all sides,” spokesman Martin Nesirky quoted the UN chief as saying.

Mr Suthep urged people who had been demonstrating against the Red Shirts to leave the area for their own safety.

Police and soldiers stood guard at the mouth of Silom Road, Bangkok’s financial district, while across the intersection, Red Shirts screamed slogans and brandished sharpened bamboo staves.

Morning traffic on the normally jammed road was light and fewer workers were seen headed for their offices.

Bangkok’s skytrain service cut its hours of operation and shut down stations in the protest-affected area. A number of stops along the city’s subway routes also were shut down but operating hours remained the same.

The Red Shirts consist mainly of poor rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and pro-democracy activists who opposed the military coup that ousted him in 2006 after months of demonstrations by the Yellow Shirts.

The Red Shirts believe the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is illegitimate because it came to power under military pressure through a parliamentary vote after disputed court rulings ousted two elected pro-Thaksin governments. They want Parliament dissolved and new elections held.