Three people were killed during clashes Tuesday between anti-government protesters and police in central Bangkok, authorities said.
The deadly violence
in the heart of the large, bustling city is likely to intensify Thailand's
bitter and protracted political crisis.
A police officer died
after he was shot in the head, and two other men, aged 29 and 52, were also
killed, officials said.
Fifty-eight people,
both police officers and protesters, were wounded in the clashes Tuesday,
according to the Erawan Emergency Center, a medical unit monitoring the unrest
in Thailand.
It wasn't immediately
clear if the two dead civilians were protesters.
Police were trying to
clear demonstrators, who have been campaigning against Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra for months in central Bangkok.
After police fired
tear gas in an attempt to disperse crowds of demonstrators, people among the
protesters began firing guns at police.
With the two sides
about 200 meters apart, police responded by firing rubber bullets and live
ammunition.
During the firefight,
which lasted about 20 minutes, a grenade exploded near a group of police
officers, knocking them to the ground. At least four of them were wounded, said
Lt. Gen. Paradon Patthanathabut, the national security chief.
Thousands of
protesters
About 6,000
demonstrators were estimated to be on the streets of the city Tuesday, Paradon
said, and thousands of security personnel have been mobilized.
Protesters opposed to
Yingluck have been camped out since November at official buildings around the
city, including Government House, the office of the prime minister and
appointed cabinet ministers.
Leaders of the
protests say they want Yingluck's government replaced by an unelected
"people council," which would oversee electoral and political
changes.
Clashes among pro-
and anti-government groups had flared up during the crisis, leaving at least 10
people dead and hundreds wounded. The government responded by imposing a state
of emergency last month.
But until recently,
authorities had largely refrained from confronting the demonstrators directly,
even when they prevented large numbers of people from voting in recent
elections.
That changed last
week as police began attempts to seize sites occupied by protesters for months.
Government officials
said the protesters' actions were blocking public access to government
services, making intervention by authorities necessary.
Officials claimed
public sentiment was turning against the demonstrators. But the protesters have
so far refused to give way.
The pressure on
Yingluck intensified further Tuesday after Thailand's anti-corruption
commission said it was bringing charges against her over a controversial
rice-subsidy program.
Source:
CNNMore pictures
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