Two people have been killed and 45 wounded during political violence in the Thai capital, emergency services said Sunday, as the opposition vowed a final push to overthrow the government.
"The confirmed toll is now two dead and 45 injured," an official at the city's Erawan emergency centre told AFP.
The
circumstances were unclear but the violence broke out after a
confrontation late Saturday between opposition protesters and government
supporters staging their own rally at a Bangkok stadium in support of
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Thai pro-government leaders end rally after violence
Leaders
of the pro-government 'Red Shirts' on Sunday ordered tens of thousands
of their supporters to end a mass rally in Bangkok after violence left
at least one person dead and dozens more wounded.
"In
order to avoid further complicating the situation for the government,
we have decided to let people return home," Thida Thavornseth told
protesters gathered in a Bangkok stadium.
One
person was shot dead and at least 35 wounded late Saturday as
anti-government demonstrators clashed with Red Shirts in the area around
the stadium, according to emergency services.
Tensions
in the Thai capital remained high on Sunday after reports of fresh
violence near the stadium and threats by opposition demonstrators to try
to enter key government buildings, including the headquarters of
embattled Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra.
On
Saturday, police said protesters hurled bottles at officers near the
stadium in the Ramkhamhaeng district, where more than 70,000 Red Shirts
were gathered. Gunshots
were later fired near the stadium, claiming the first life in the
recent protests, according to police, although the circumstances of the
fatality were unclear.
The
opposition demonstrators, who want to replace Prime Minister Yingluck's
government with an unelected "people's council", have mounted the
kingdom's biggest street rallies since political violence in Bangkok
three years ago left dozens dead in a military crackdown.
The
protests were triggered by an amnesty bill, since abandoned by the
ruling party, that opponents feared would have allowed the return of
fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's brother, whose
overthrow by royalist generals in 2006 unleashed years of political
turmoil.
One person shot dead in Thai political protests - police
A
Thai man was shot dead and three others were injured as political
protests in Bangkok turned violent Saturday, police said, after
opposition protesters vowed a final push in their bid to topple the
government.
"A
21-year-man was shot dead by two bullets to his left side," said
Boonchuay Pochantong, an official at a police station near a Bangkok
sports stadium where unrest broke out earlier.
He added that three more men were injured.
The
circumstances were unclear but the shootings came after a mob of
opposition protesters attacked government supporters travelling to a
rally at the stadium in a show of support for embattled Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra.
Two people wounded by gunshots at Thai protests
Two
people suffered gunshot wounds as violence broke out at anti-government
protests in the Thai capital on Saturday, emergency officials said. Two
people suffered gunshot wounds as violence broke out at anti-government
protests in the Thai capital on Saturday, emergency officials said.
One
student was shot in the thigh and another man was shot in the back,
according to an official at the Panya General Hospital where they were
taken for treatment. The
circumstances were unclear but the shootings came after a mob of
opposition protesters attacked government supporters travelling to a
rally at a Bangkok sports stadium in a show of support for embattled
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Also
a senior police official said Saturday, that Thailand will deploy
nearly 3,000 troops to reinforce security in Bangkok, with tensions
rising as opposition protesters vow a final push in their bid to topple
the government.
"From
tonight there will be soldiers out to take care of security," national
police spokesman Piya Utayo said in a televised address, adding that
some 2,730 military personnel from the army, navy and airforce would
take part.
The
move comes after violence broke out at protests in the Thai capital,
with two people suffering gunshot wounds, according to emergency
officials.
Defiant
demonstrators seeking to unseat the embattled administration of Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra have besieged major state buildings in
Bangkok in the biggest street protests since mass rallies in 2010 left
dozens dead in a military crackdown. The
protesters - a mix of royalists, southerners and the urban middle class
sometimes numbering in their tens of thousands - are united by their
loathing of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's older
brother.
One
student was shot in the thigh and another man was shot in the back,
according to an official at the Panya General Hospital where they were
taken for treatment.
The
circumstances were unclear but the shootings came after a mob of
opposition protesters attacked government supporters travelling to a
rival rally at a Bangkok sports stadium in a show of support for
Yingluck.
Thai opposition protesters try to break into Government House - police
Hundreds
of Thai opposition protesters tried Saturday to force their way over
barriers protecting Government House, police said, in a dramatic
escalation of their bid to topple premier Yingluck Shinawatra after
vowing a final push in their demonstrations.
"About
2,000 protesters of students network were trying to pressure the
police" said National Police spokesman Piya Utayo, as demonstrators
piled sandbags near barriers protecting the key symbol of government
power in an effort to get across.
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