Explosions at anti-government protest sites injure 51

Attackers set off explosions at anti-government protest sites Sunday, wounding 51 people and raising fears of widening confrontations in Thailand’s worst political crisis in decades, which has strangled its economy and shut down its main airports.

Thousands of government supporters gathered, meanwhile, in the heart of Bangkok for a rally denouncing the protesters, further inflaming tensions.

The rally was designed to show support for Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who has appeared helpless in ending the crisis that has stranded up to 100,000 travelers, brought the key tourism industry to a virtual standstill and affected plane schedules worldwide.

Somchai has been forced to run the government out of the northern city of Chiang Mai because of fears for his safety in the capital.

Sunday’s explosions hit Somchai’s Bangkok office compound, which protesters seized in August and have held ever since, an anti-government television station, and a road near the main entrance to Bangkok’s domestic airport, which the protesters are also occupying. At least 51 people were injured, including four seriously, officials said.