.bmp)
.bmp)
The international airport in the Thai capital of Bangkok has been closed for departing flights because anti-government demonstrators have swarmed the terminal.Airport manager Serirat Prasutanon announced the closure shortly after 9:15 p.m. A few minutes later, hundreds of demonstrators broke though police lines into the passenger terminal.In a statement, Serirat said airport authorities tried to negotiate with the protesters "but to no avail.""For the safety for passengers, we have to stop flights out of the airport temporarily until the situation returns to normal," he said, adding that incoming flights were still operating. Earlier, he said the governor of Samut Prakan province where the airport is located had asked the army to help police.On Thursday afternoon, Thai anti-government demonstrators fired shots at government supporters as the rival sides clashed on a major highway in the Thai capital of Bangkok.Eleven people were wounded in the clashes in Bangkok streets, Reuters reported. The fighting began when government supporters began throwing rocks at a truck carrying members of the People's Alliance for Democracy as it was returning from Bangkok's old airport, where the group had been holding a rally.The airport has served as temporary government headquarters since the alliance occupied the prime minister's office in late August.The anti-government group responded by firing slingshots and at least two pistols from their truck, and then gave chase to the attackers, who appeared to number several dozen, according to footage shown on Thai PBS television. The gunmen fired about half a dozen shots.The men on the truck appeared by their dress — wearing camouflage clothes and yellow armbands — to be among the so-called guards working for the alliance, who have earned a reputation for aggressive behavior.They also hoisted a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand's revered monarch, whose interests they claim to be working for.The alliance has previously denied that they carry guns, though reporters from The Associated Press have seen them carrying and shooting firearms at earlier confrontationsThe footage showed anti-government supporters surrounding a motorcycle taxi driver and putting a knife to his throat. After the driver fled, the protesters hit several motorbikes with steel rods and set fire to another one.The two sides are fairly easy to distinguish, since the protest alliance favors yellow shirts and their rivals red ones. Some of the government supporters seen fleeing were wearing red shirts.The Narenthorn Medical Center said four people were taken to the hospital. It was not immediately clear whether any of the injured had been hit by gunfire.The pro-government crowd appeared to be members of a loose association of taxi drivers who support the government and are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.The People's Alliance for Democracy opposed the current government, because it considers it to be a puppet of Thaksin, who was accused of corruption and abuse of power and deposed in a September 2006 military coup.During the brief skirmish, neither police nor any other security forces intervened.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
As in the days of Noah...
