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Two killed in Thai protests

By Sutin Wannabovorn ASSOCIATED PRESS | Wednesday, October 8, 2008

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BANGKOK | Thai protesters, demanding that the government resign, set fire to cars and threw bottles and metal barricades at police, who used tear gas to break through their blockade around parliament Tuesday. Two people were killed, and more than 350 were injured.

Unarmed military forces were deployed to quell the unrest, an army spokesman said.

It was the most violent and widespread unrest in Thailand's six-week political crisis in which protesters have tried to force out supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted in 2006 amid allegations of corruption.

Tensions began building Monday night when protesters surrounded parliament, erecting barbed wire and tire barricades. They vowed to block Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from entering to deliver a policy statement to lawmakers Tuesday. Mr. Somchai is Mr. Thaksin's brother-in-law.

The chaos prompted Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to resign.

The violence erupted early in the morning when police first cleared the street outside parliament so the prime minister and other lawmakers could enter. Rioting protesters set fire to parked cars, trucks and vans.

Clashes continued throughout the day, with police firing tear gas at protesters, who were armed with batons and slingshots and who threw bottles, metal barriers and firecrackers at police.

In the afternoon, riot police fired volleys of tear gas to break through the protesters' cordon so the lawmakers could leave.

Tuesday's street fighting continued after nightfall, with new clashes erupting outside the Bangkok police headquarters. Forces inside the compound fired tear gas to try to disperse the besieging mob.

A 20-year-old woman died in clashes outside police headquarters after being brought to the hospital with chest injuries and one hand nearly severed, said Surachet Sathitniramai, director of the disaster coordination agency Narenthorn Center.

About a mile from the fighting, a second person was killed when a sport utility vehicle exploded near the headquarters of the Chart Thai Party, a member of Mr. Somchai's six-party coalition government.

A total of 358 people, mostly protesters, were injured. A few policemen were among those hurt, said police Lt. Thirapol Pokpong.

Thai media reported that Mr. Somchai sneaked out the back of parliament to escape the mob by climbing over a fence.

The protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy have occupied the prime minister's office since late August. The alliance includes royalists, wealthy and middle-class urban residents, and union activists who are nervous about political and social changes that threaten their privilege and position in society.

When protesters originally took over the grounds of the prime minister's office on Aug. 26, their intention was to oust then-Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej - whom they also accused of being a puppet of Mr. Thaksin. They later said they also opposed his successor, Mr. Somchai.

Mr. Somchai was sworn in as prime minister on Sept. 25 but has been forced to run the government from a makeshift office at Bangkok's airport.