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Thai soldiers, anti-govt protesters clash

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-13 10:43

Related coverage: 14th ASEAN Summit Related Video: Thai PM calls for halt to violence Related readings: Rioting erupts in Thai capital Thai capital in state of emergency Police arrest summit protest leader Thai protesters swarm into Asia summit media venue

BANGKOK -- Thai soldiers unleashed hundreds of rounds of automatic weapons fire to clear anti-government protesters from a major intersection in the capital in the pre-dawn darkness Monday. Demonstrators responded by throwing at least one gasoline bomb at a line of troops.

At least 49 people were reported hurt in the first serious clash between the two sides in ongoing protests that have roiled this southeast Asian nation and came a day after the country's ousted prime minister called for a revolution.

While the government has declared a state of emergency, protesters controlled many streets in the capital Bangkok. They had earlier commandeered public buses and swarmed triumphantly over military vehicles in defiance.

Thai troops take position as they try to clear a main road blocked by supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok April 13, 2009. [Agencies] More photos on Bangkok riots

In the starkest example of the chaos, a mob of the red-shirted protesters smashed cars carrying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides on Sunday.

The clash began between 4 am and 5 am, as troops in full combat gear advanced to disperse the protesters, who were occupying a major junction, according to witnesses and television footage.

The soldiers fired hundreds of rounds from their M-16 automatic rifles, though it was unclear whether they were firing at or over the protesters. Some witnesses said tear gas was also fired and reporters saw protesters hurl at least one gasoline bomb which exploded behind the army line.

At the nearby Century Park Hotel, foreign tourists were seen rushing into taxis and heading for Bangkok's international airport.

The official Erawan Emergency Coordination Center said 49 people were injured on both sides and taken to four nearby hospitals.

Monday marked the beginning of the Thai New Year, normally the country's most joyous holiday. The Bangkok municipal government canceled all its festivities, but despite the rioting many Thais and foreign tourists began engaging in the ritualistic water throwing and general partying.

Protesters set fires that were still burning 1-1/2 hours later and retreated into side streets near the Din Daeng intersection, where there is an on-ramp to the main expressway leading north from the capital.

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