Bangkok, Jan 20- Violent incidents relating to anti-government protests in Thailand’s capital have resulted in nine dead and almost 600 injured.
Twenty-two of the injured are still hospitalised, according to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Erawan Emergency Medical Services Centre.
The figures were recorded since the clashes around the Ramkhumhaeng University involving anti-government protesters and the Red Shirt (pro-Thaksin Shinawatra group) between Nov 30 and today.
The last fatality was yesterday when one of the victims of a grenade attack during marches by the protesters at Banthad Thond last Friday, succumbed to his injuries.
The ‘silent violence’ – incidents occurring usually near protest sites and involving unknown assailants – happens almost every night.
Last night, a 53-year-old People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) guard was shot in the back at 11.20pm at the Latproa intersection, one of seven gathering sites for supporters of the ‘Shutdown Bangkok’ campaign which entered its seventh day.
There are reports about confrontation between the protesters and Red Shirts, and many expect more violent incidents as the Feb 2 general election draws near.
The seriousness of the situation has caused concern among some countries, with Kuwait and Oman advising their citizens to leave Thailand.
Yesterday, Supreme Commander of Thailand Armed Forces, General Thanasak Patimaprakorn, appealed to both sides of the political conflict to come up with solutions and make sacrifices for the good of the country, but acknowledged the difficulty in finding neutral mediators acceptable to them.
The conflict has caused uncertainty on the fate of the general election.
The Election Commission has called on the caretaker government to postpone the election as its staff was unable to go to certain areas in the south where support for the opposition is strong.
However, caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has refused. She also faces a number of problems with the National Anti-Corruption Commission investigating her for her role in an alleged false government-to-government deal to sell rice overseas.
– Bernama
