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Thai troops move in on protesters Thai troops move in on protesters
(29 minutes later)
Thai troops are moving against two anti-government camps in the capital, Bangkok, vowing to clear at least one of them before dusk. More than 170 people have been hurt in clashes in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, as troops try to take control of areas held by anti-government demonstrators.
More than 90 people have been injured in clashes so far as security forces fired rubber bullets at the opposition red-shirted demonstrators. Soldiers and police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as they advanced after dusk on the red-shirt protesters, who responded by throwing petrol bombs.
Earlier, security forces retook an anti-government satellite TV station. The protesters, who want the government to call new elections, have been camped out in parts of the city for a month.
Over the past three weeks, protesters demanding new elections have paralysed parts of Bangkok. Earlier, the security forces retook an anti-government satellite TV station.
Lines of soldiers and police in riot gear have been facing off against the demonstrators, launching an attempt to clear the protest camps, regrouping and then trying again. Protesters overcame police outside the offices of the People Channel on Friday and temporarily put it back on air. TV footage showed officers shaking hands and smiling with protesters as they retreated.
The troops are under orders to break up at least one of the anti-government sites by nightfall, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok. Meanwhile, hundreds of red-shirts are reported to have forced their way into government offices in the northern cities of Chiang Mai and Udon Thani in protest at the government crackdown in Bangkok.
More than 90 people, including 22 soldiers and police, have been hurt in the clashes. 'Explosion'
After night fell in the capital, hundreds of soldiers and riot police advanced on a red-shirt camp near Phan Fah bridge and Rajdumnoen road, close to several government buildings and a UN office.
Local media reported that both sides were firing weapons and detonating explosive devices. Images broadcast on television showed chaotic scenes, with clouds of tear gas enveloping the streets.
COLOUR-CODED PROTESTS Many rural dwellers and urban poor support red-shirts, while yellow-shirts comprise mainly middle classes and urban eliteIn September 2008 yellows rally against government, reds counter-rally, clashes in BangkokYellows blockade airport in November 2008, government collapses, yellow-friendly government installedIn April 2009 red protests halt Asean summit, two people die in Bangkok clashes, rallies called offReds relaunch protests in March 2010, splash blood on government buildings, march on parliament Reds and yellows Q&A: Thailand protestsCOLOUR-CODED PROTESTS Many rural dwellers and urban poor support red-shirts, while yellow-shirts comprise mainly middle classes and urban eliteIn September 2008 yellows rally against government, reds counter-rally, clashes in BangkokYellows blockade airport in November 2008, government collapses, yellow-friendly government installedIn April 2009 red protests halt Asean summit, two people die in Bangkok clashes, rallies called offReds relaunch protests in March 2010, splash blood on government buildings, march on parliament Reds and yellows Q&A: Thailand protests
Protesters have covered CCTV with black bags to prevent surveillance and towels were handed out among the red-shirts to help minimise the effects of tear gas. Later, an army spokesman said 20 soldiers had been injured by a blast, according to the AFP news agency.
The red-shirts began their campaign on 12 March, establishing two camps in Bangkok - one at Government House and another in the commercial district, forcing some businesses to close. An earlier offensive near Phan Fah bridge failed to clear the protesters' camp, and left five people injured with wounds caused by rubber bullets.
Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters force their way into the governor's office in the northern city of Chiang Mai in protest at the security forces' actions in Bangkok. The security forces also unsuccessfully sought to clear another protester camp nearby at the Kok Woa intersection.
The Thai capital has witnessed at times chaotic confrontations. The army had earlier declared that it hoped to clear out the protesters from one site by dusk, and that it would employ "soft measures and hard measures".
On Friday, protesters overcame security forces and put the anti-government television station, the People Channel, temporarily back on air. Government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said that "if the security officers have to use force, they will do it with caution".
TV images showed police officers shaking hands and smiling with protesters as they retreated, prompting speculation of split loyalties among the security forces. The red-shirts - a loose coalition of left-wing activists and supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call an election.
But shortly afterwards, police officers retook the channel and stopped its broadcasts. They say Mr Abhisit came to power illegitimately in a parliamentary vote after a pro-Thaksin government was forced to step down. Mr Thaksin was ousted as prime minister in a military coup in 2006.
The red shirts want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and call an election, saying his government is illegitimate. They have vowed to defy the state of emergency declared on Wednesday with more rallies. Arrest warrants have been issued for several of the protest leaders.
Mr Vejjajiva was expected to give a television address from an army barracks that has been the government's operation centre for the past month.
The red-shirts are broadly drawn from the urban poor and rural areas, and many of them support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006.
They have vowed to defy the emergency laws with more rallies. Arrest warrants have been issued for several of the protest leaders.
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