Updated on
Summary
The Thai army stormed a vast protest site in Bangkok Wednesday, leaving at least five people dead as armed troops smashed down barricades and clashed with demonstrators.A tearful protest leader announced on stage that the anti-government Red Shirts would end their weeks-long rally in the retail heart of the capital, saying their leaders would surrender to police shortly. The government said some top Red Shirts had fled the scene but several others were seen still at the main rally stage. The army used armoured vehicles to ram into the sprawling encampment, which had been fortified with towering walls made from tyres, bamboo stakes and razor wire. Several thousand anti-government Red Shirt protesters remained inside, defying a demand to leave. A foreign journalist was among those shot dead during the clashes, which erupted at one end of the rally base, which stretches for several kilometres (miles).
