2014-02-18 18:42:29

Violence breaks out in Thai capital


(Vatican Radio) In Bangkok, at least four people are dead and more than 40 are injured after police began breaking up camps housing anti-government protestors.

Violence broke out when thousands of police tried to clear protest camps that have blocked roads and parks in Bangkok for several weeks.

They used a bulldozer to break up a stage the protestors had built.

There was gunfire and police said attackers fired grenades at them.

Thailand's government says the protestors should go home. It has told them it will end their blockade of government buildings this week.

On Monday, demonstrators responded by trying to cement shut the gates outside the prime minister's office, while on Tuesday protesters reportedly hijacked two buses and used them to block a rally site at the interior ministry.

The demonstrators are demanding that the prime minister quit, despite an election this month which her party was expected to win.

But on Tuesday Thailand's anti-corruption commission said it would charge Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra with mishandling a state subsidy programme for rice farmers -- a move that some analysts say could lead to her impeachment. Listen to this report by Alastair Wanklyn RealAudioMP3








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