Protestors clash with police in Thailand, 1 dead

Thai protesters demanding 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. At least one person was killed and more 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 premier 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. Somchai is Thaksin’s brother-in-law.

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.