ASIA: Two dead, 123 wounded in Thai violence: ministry
14 Apr 2009 6:53 PM
BANGKOK, April 14 AFP - Thailand's public health ministry has upped the toll of injuries from street protests in the capital, saying that two people had died and 123 were wounded, two of them seriously.
It said on Tuesday the two deaths were caused by shooting during clashes between demonstrators and local residents a day earlier.
"There are 123 wounded, two died and 50 have been hospitalised including two who are in a serious condition but out of danger," the ministry said in a statement.
"Both victims were men from Bangkok who fought with protesters Monday evening," it said.
Anti-government protesters who penned themselves in near Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's office with roadblocks abandoned their three-week rally on Tuesday as the army threatened them with a final military offensive.
Cabinet minister Satit Wonghnongtaey said that three residents had been shot by protesters, clad in red shirts and loyal to ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and that one 54-year-old had died in hospital.
An official at the privately-run Hua Chiew Hospital near the clash site said that a 19-year-old man had also been killed and five others taken to hospital with injuries.
Officials at Bangkok General Hospital confirmed the death of the 54-year-old and said they were treating two more men, one 39-year-old shot in the foot and a 51-year-old man who was bruised.
Abhisit said 23 troops were among the injured.
