Red Shirt leaders call off Bangkok protest
Protest leaders in Thailand said they will surrender today after troops stormed into their Bangkok encampment.
Soldiers backed by armoured vehicles moved into a fortified encampment occupied by Red Shirt protesters, breaking through bamboo-and-tyre barricades in a major offensive in the heart of the capital.
At least two protesters were killed as well as an Italian photographer, who died of a gunshot wound to the chest suffered during the military operation.
Another 17 other people were injured, including a Dutch journalist who was shot in the shoulder and a 53-year-old American documentary film-maker who was treated for a bullet wound in the leg.
Surreal scenes of warfare erupted soon after dawn in one of the wealthiest parts of the capital, a metropolis of 10 million people, as troops armed with M-16s converged on the central business district.
At least two key leaders of the Red Shirt protesters later surrendered to authorities and were led away by police in central Bangkok.
Seven organisers went on stage in the core protest zone to announce they were formally ending the sit-in to prevent more deaths.
But their decision was greeted with shouts of dismay from many of the men and women gathered around, and grenades exploded nearby as the leaders announced their decision. One journalist was injured.
Angry protesters also tried to set fire to a shopping mall and drove away journalists who tried to film them.
