Above images taken by Twitter user @WryEyes. Follow WryEyes on Twitter.

Twitter users KarmaNomad, BKKApologist, dchin888 and aelacallan are Tweeting from the scene.

But it appears all of Bangkok is not yet totally secure. Heavily-armed troops and barricades of razor wire, tires and sandbag bunkers remain in place at key points around the main rally area. Reports continued to filter out this morning of gunshots fired overnight and of small groups of protesters, some with weapons, still being found by security forces scouring the areas that have seen so much mayhem over recent weeks.

Burned ATMs sit at the site of a gutted building near Victory Monument.

Yesterday, I ventured down to the Victory Monument – Din Daeng area to check for myself whether authorities had fully wrested control of lawless streets from the groups of protesters with whom they had skirmished, often to deadly effect, on and off for days. News reporting overall during several weeks of dangerous political upheaval has, in the main, been almost as appalling as the descent into anarchy. Key news has often emerged late or with a lack of concrete details. With a few notable exceptions, foreign coverage of developments would be laughable were it not for the fact that the lives and futures of people and a nation are at stake.

Something like a hundred people have been confirmed killed in violence related to this year’s upheaval (Update: according to this report in The Nation, the death toll since the UDD rally began on 12 March is officially 85 and 1,898 have been injured.). More than a thousand have been injured. Many others have lost businesses, homes, jobs and belongings. Bangkok needs to get on with the job of rebuilding families, lives and livelihoods. Both the BTS Skytrain and MRT underground services remain closed. Key roads are still closed by security forces. Embassies, schools, banks and shops in many areas are unlikely to open until next week. A night-time curfew (9pm-5am as of this post) will continue until Sunday morning.

So, given the paucity of reliable information about what was happening on the streets right NOW, I needed to check the practicality of trying to travel from my home to key commercial areas.

Locals sit at a disused bus stop the day after it was damaged in rioting at Victory Monument.

I found many people who said they were ‘democracy supporters’ gathered around Victory Monument. Lines of parked taxis blocked many lanes of this big roundabout. I spoke to one group of Thais standing on a traffic island in the middle of the road. Tight smiles and furrowed brows, they watched from afar ongoing efforts by fire fighters to damp down the flames at two retail developments on Rajavithi Road. They told me they were UDD supporters. These were most definitely not Isaan famers. One woman who looked in her twenties spoke very good English and told me they were not happy with developments. We discussed politics no further. Everybody was very pleasant and there was the usual epic delight one typically gets from Thais everywhere who meet a farang who speaks even passable Thai. Just before I left, a girl aged about five years, proudly handed me a little bouquet of bright yellow, purple and pink flowers she had just picked from the manicured green area on the traffic island.

Locals gather to watch firefighters damp down two retail developments gutted in arson attacks during rioting at Victory Monument.

I crossed the road through mired traffic to the end of Rajavithi Road. On the corner I found another clump of UDD supporters and about two dozen police scattered about. They were silently watching the smouldering ruins of the Center One shopping mall. Once packed with young shoppers, it now stands gutted by arson. Along both sides of Rajavithi Road, people stood around or sat on steps, quietly taking in the spectacle. People everywhere took pictures of the destruction using everything from mobile phones to expensive digital SLRs. I saw not a single easily identifiable journalist. In the past few days’ mayhem, many journalists had discarded their green armbands amidst fears of targeting by snipers and angry mobs but still, I spotted nobody who looked even remotely like a professional journalist here. Down the road, I did meet one Thai news cameraman and saw a lone foreign photographer.

Scene of massive arson attacks during rioting on Rajavithi Road.

Many of the people taking photographs were employees of companies whose premises had been gutted in the fires.

Center One, once a popular shopping center with hundreds of shops, stands gutted by arson.

I made my way east on Rajavithi Road, towards the ‘Din Daeng triangle’. The area is centered on the Sam Liam Din Daeng intersection at the northern end of Rajprarop Road, some two kilometres due north from the Pratunam entrance to the now-disbanded Rajprasong rally site. Here, I found a scene of utter carnage just outside an army barrier preventing access to a ‘live fire zone’. Shocking destruction could be seen everywhere.

Buildings gutted by arson, remnants of burned tyres, and other detritus of a war zone at the Sam Liam Din Daeng intersection.

Scene of carnage at the northern end of Rajprarop Road, some 100 meters from heavily-barricaded Thai army troops. This area was the scene of some of the most fierce and deadly protest activity and clashes with security forces over several days of rioting.

An army truck that was gutted by arson amid scenes of deadly mayhem on 15 May near the northern end of Rajprarop Road. At least three Thai soldiers were dragged from the truck and beaten, one was shot.

I found many redshirts (covertly so, they displayed none of their once-trademark red regalia) hunting for evidence of the sniper they told me had fired on them in previous days from a half-built condominium tower. They were scouring the area opposite the tower for bullet holes and gathering recovered slugs. One man showed me a palm full of metal missiles – 5.56mm copper-jacketed slugs, steel nuts (presumably fired from slingshots), and steel cylinders that appear to be the cores of less-lethal riot-control rounds after their rubber coating has been cooked off in the fires. Others quickly gathered around, eagerly picked up the slugs and discussed them.

A Thai man displays some of the missiles collected around the scene of intense violence at the Sam Liam Din Daeng intersection.

I was trying to take a good photograph of these eager hands reaching in when a terse (but polite, “na krub”) announcement was barked out on megaphone from behind the army barricade 100 metres away. I didn’t understand the words but the tone seemed to be “get the %&%*$ out of there or else!”

A man next to me pulled back his shoulders, raised his chin and, squaring off all of his mighty 165cms to the army barricade, barked back through clenched teeth an angry “Arai?!?!” (WHAT???!!!, huh?!!) as the other men quickly dispersed around corners and out of sight. One of them gently tapped me on the shoulder and and warned me I should leave, that it was not safe. His friendly admonition was redundant, however. I am not ashamed to admit that as he finished his words to me, I was already running around the corner back into Rajavithi Road, anxiously hugging the side of the street in a bid to eliminate the line of sight on me from the army perimeter.

Molotov cocktails stand unused next to iced drinks in front of a traffic police box gutted by arson at the Sam Liam Din Daeng intersection.

I don’t publicly delve into the politics. Unlike a rather worrying number of journalists, I certainly don’t take sides here, and I don’t condone violent behaviour by anybody but I must admit I found this an amazing experience. I would not be surprised if some of these men were the same protesters (or “terrorists” as the government apparently calls them) who had been involved in the destruction I was seeing all around me. And yet, despite their having been shot at by identifiable troops and unidentifiable snipers, seen their brothers-in-arms shot in the head, perhaps even taken part in the horrifying beating and killing of at least one soldier at this very spot, today they were warm, friendly and caring towards interlopers like this silly white tourist. It is a seemingly Thai paradox that a ‘rioting mob’ can provide such tender care for someone who probably doesn’t belong in their midst.

Having legged it around the corner into Rajavithi Road, I headed back towards Victory Monument and turned south into Payathai Road to see if Century the Movie Plaza had been torched. I found yet another security checkpoint defended by multiple layers of razor wire, sandbag emplacements and armed soldiers. One soldier on the ground was yelling back and forth with a commanding officer with a radio on the walkway above. Some local women were seeking access to their homes, located on the inside of one of the most heavily defended (and deadly) zones in the area.

Several rolls of razor wire stretch across the northern end of Payahai Road at a security cordon supported by bunkers made from sandbags near Victory Monument.

Troops seemed happy for me to take some photographs and continue towards Century the Movie Plaza. I passed a group of police sitting in the shade about 10 meters beyond the checkpoint and found this shopping center had been spared looting and destruction. A chatted briefly with a very friendly army officer who spoke excellent English. He was eager to know what part of London I was from as he had also lived there. He told me now the area was now very safe (“not like yesterday”) and we split up after a warm handshake. I headed into Soi Rangnam. He mounted a motorbike and headed off south down Payathai Road.

Soi Rangnam was almost deserted. I had never seen it like this. Apart from the very occasional taxi motorbike, there was no traffic. It is always a surreal experience to find any part of Bangkok free from the usual cacaphony of grating road noise, amplified announcements, and loud pedestrians. There were few food carts at the end closest to Payathai Road. It was actually quite blissful – a wonderful warm sun, and a nice cooling breeze, with only the acrid stench from mounds of uncollected garbage to ruin the mood…

The western end of Soi Rangnam is almost totally deserted less than 24 hours after days of intense violence at the far end of the road.

The far end of Soi Rangnam, at Rajprarop Road (about 200m south of where the army had admonished us) was blocked by several layers of razor wire, beyond which lay tyre barricades and a sandbag bunker guarded by armed troops.

At the eastern and of Soi Rangnam, where it meets Rajprarop Road, many rolls of razor wire, tyre barricades and sangbag bunkers manned by armed soldiers prevent easy access to the area, which remains a 'live fire zone'.

From Soi Rangnam, I headed north up a soi that approaches the back of the Center One shopping center, now a smouldering wreckage.

A firefighters heads for one of the rear entrances to Center One, a retail mall gutted by arson during rioting.

Shop owners recover remaining goods from Center One, a retail mall gutted by arson during rioting.

Firefighters who attended the scene of massive arson attacks perpetrated during rioting at Rajavithi Road.

As I headed back to Victory Monument, a Canadian friend called. She had recently managed to evacuate from her apartment in Rajavithi Soi 6 after several days of combat uncomfortably close to her home. She was eager to gather her things before finding a flight out of the country but was unsure of the situation. I said I would call back after checking her soi and the mood in the area. As I headed back towards Sam Liam Ding Daeng to reach her soi, I could already taste a worsened atmosphere. As I reached the soi 6, black smoke was again billowing from the same place at Sam Liam Din Daeng where I had been taking photographs less than an hour before.

Black smoke billows from burning tyres in freshly set fires at the Sam Liam Din Daeng intersection.

The language barrier between me and some locals sitting on the corner of the soi prevented me from confirming what was happening. Luckily, another couple with cameras emerged from the direction of Din Daeng. They told me five red shirts had set tyres ablaze again. My friend’s soi seemed perfectly okay but the afternoon was drawing to a close and the mood was definitely darkening. Back at Victory Monument, there was no doubt whatsoever that tension levels had gone up yet further. Where locals had been gathered almost exclusively to gawp at firefighters damping down the fire in Center One shopping center, hundreds of men now stood about ranged across several clumps. They animatedly discussed developments. Some appeared intoxicated. All were clearly unhappy. Up on the skywalk over Paholyothin Road, I spoke to another, less obviously angry group. They were undramatic about it but said they were very angry with the Prime Minister.

People describing themselves as 'democracy supporters' gather on the overhead walkway at Victory Monument to observe the results of days of political violence and rioting, and discuss the recent events.

I started walking north on Phaholyothin Road. I came across sporadic evidence of rioting for several hundred meters to the north. Phone boxes were burned out or smashed. Glass on advertising signs was smashed. Phone boxes were vandalised.

Telephone booths gutted by arson on Paholyothin Road, north of Victory Monument.

After walking for ten minutes, I checked Twitter. Several hundred protesters had reportedly surrounded police at Victory Monument.

With hindsight, it perhaps seems obvious that one should not venture into such areas. The problem is that nobody really knows where and if these areas exist. One can all-too-easily get the impression from the news that it’s perfectly safe to go out in the daytime and do some much-needed shopping. And in fact, in large areas of Bangkok, that may well be true. Many people caught short by the curfew and empty 7-Eleven shelves close to home will no doubt have headed farther afield to stock up. Some might even have headed into work. The problem is that with limited public transport running during the day, rerouted buses and a curfew, it can be difficult to negotiate the areas that are still blocked or perhaps open but unsafe.

This morning brought reports of sporadic gunfire in some areas around the former Rajprasong rally site last night and today security forces continued to unearth small numbers of armed protesters who have been hiding in various locations around Rajprasong, Rajdamri and Lumpini Park. There have even been some reports of more attacks with M-79 grenades, though these are hard to verify.

Troops (including army snipers using silenced M-16 rifles) swept through the Sam Liam Din Daeng intersection today, securing the area to allow clearance of the debris and wrecked vehicles. From the photographs I’ve seen, it’s clear that they at least expected some armed opposition. I have not seen any reports to confirm if they met any.

According to news reports, authorities have been finding and neutralizing explosives of various types and in different locations in central Bangkok, mostly in the abandoned cars of UDD guards. The government has set up a telephone hotline to report any attempts at arson. Anyone who spots a suspicious vehicle or suspected arson attacks should call 191. Apparently, this will bring police fast-response teams on high-powered motorcycles.

Let’s hope Saturday brings some true relief from the pressure and horrors of recent weeks.

The images contained in this post are a selection from a total of 81 photographs, all of which can be seen in this gallery. (WARNING: there is one graphic image of old blood in the collection.)

At about 7pm tonight, Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol or ‘Seh Daeng’, as he is known, was hit by one or two bullets. Seh Daeng reportedly suffered a head wound and is in a coma, his breathing mechanically assisted.

Seh Daeng is the long-infamous and outspoken ‘rogue’ army officer who has been overseeing the Red Shirts defensive lines. He is infamous for pronouncements such as claiming to have trained a people’s army that will rise up against any violent military crackdown, as well as for saying his ‘Ronin warriors’ defended Red Shirts from military snipers and killing on 10 April.

Your faithful poster was nearby at the time, positioned on Rama IV Road about 150 meters from the UDD barricade at the Rajdamri/Silom intersection.

There were plenty of bangs and pops going off -almost certainly fireworks. Then, the noises changed. There were two loud, deep booms, followed by five rapid gunshots. My assumption that this was grenade and rifle fire seemed to be proven correct when dozens of pedestrians came running up Rama IV road, away from the Silom intersection. Local food carts hurriedly packed up and began wheeling their businesses in the same direction, towards Suriwong Road. They laughed nervously and muttered something that was no doubt the Thai for “%@$ this nonsense, I’m getting out of Dodge!”

Local shopkeepers hurriedly pulled metal shutters closed, some of them leaning out into the street or standing around, anxiously looking towards the sound of gunfire up the road. Troops at the Suriwong corner looked less than eager to head towards the shooting but a commanding officer was barking orders, to which a few soldiers reluctantly responded. I wished them all good luck.

As I turned the corner into Suriwong, I heard some lighter popping sounds. They sounded to me like small-calibre pistol fire about 50 meters away (which I have experienced) or perhaps the sound of passing rounds (which, until know, I don’t think I have heard).

This initial round of shooting left Seh Daeng in coma at a local hospital and at least one other protester injured. In the following hours, witnesses in the area have been reporting angry crowds, more shooting, soldiers using rubber bullets. At least one more protester has been killed. Reuters (whose Japanese cameraman died in the clashes on 10 April) has reportedly pulled its staff out of the area, saying it’s too dangerous.

The CRES has apparently implemented a curfew in the area around the rally zone as well as announced that anybody who tries to drive in to the rally area faces a two-year prison term. From close friends, I am hearing about entire Thai families they know in Bangkok piling into pickup trucks and heading for the rally. Others tell me that UDD supporters outside Bangkok also want to head for the rally site but the assumption is that they will be blocked by security forces long before they arrive in Bangkok.

The following video is footage of Seh Daeng taken shortly before he was shot.

This video on CNN shows the immediate aftermath, after Seh Daeng was shot. WARNING: This is graphic video. Some viewers may find it upsetting.

The video below is footage of some of the shooting initial the Silom intersection at the time Seh Daeng was shot plus Seh Daeng being wheeled into hospital.

For many days now, the Center for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) has been issuing warnings for Red Shirt protesters to leave the rally area around the Rajprasong intersection. Many of the SMS messages have been received by non-protesters, apparently targeted because they have at some point used their mobile phones while in the rally area.

The tone and detail of the warnings began to ramp up yesterday. Apart from a hiccup last night when the threat to cut area water and electricity supplies was rescinded, the threats have continued today.

Earlier today, at least one helicopter was flying low over the rally zone. Protesters fired fireworks rockets into the sky and released traditional floating lanterns. The loud bangs and pops of the fireworks could be heard for at least a kilometre, trigging several reports of small arms fire.

Here is the latest:

• The CRES promises to close off all access to the rally zone at 6pm tonight.
• Armoured vehicles and troops bearing live ammunition will close all roads on the periphery of the rally zone, except Rama IV Road.
• After 6pm, if you’re travelling past Rama IV near the rally zone, be prepared to show official ID, like a Thai ID card.
• Protesters who want to leave will be allowed to do so but nobody will be allowed into the rally zone.
• Snipers will be positioned in key locations to provide security.
• If security forces clash with protesters while sealing off the rally zone, they’ll fire rubber bullets (less-lethal rounds) as necessary.
• If necessary, security forces will fire live rounds (lethal rounds) into the air.
• Security forces will only fire lethal rounds at armed attackers.
• The CRES encouraged businesses around the rally zone to close early (possibly to help lessen the expected traffic mayhem).
• The BTS will run normal services but will not stop at Siam, Rajdamri, Chidlom or Ploenchit stations between 6pm and midnight tonight.
• The MRT will run normal services until midnight as usual but will not stop at Silom or Lumpini stations.
• Banks and other offices on much of Silom Road are already closed for the day. Banks and other offices around Rajdamri are closed and shuttered.
• Embassies on Wireless Road are closing early today.
• The UN and embassies in Bangkok have told staff to evacuate families from the area.
• MBK shopping center, which has remained open throughout the rallies, closes at 6pm tonight. Platinum Fashion Mall closes at 5pm and is closed tomorrow.
• Roads in the area are already jammed with traffic. At BTS stations, there are long queues for both tickets and to get through ticket barriers.

We do not expect today’s moves by the government to herald a crackdown tonight, though anything is possible. Ideally, the intention is to sweat more of the protesters into leaving voluntarily. Reports from the rally zone today seem to indicate that protesters are already fearful of imminent attack.

So, what are the risks?
The risk of occasional gun and grenade attacks on security forces was already high and is only likely to rise now. If you do hear what sounds like gunfire or explosions, do not go to investigate.

If you find yourself in the midst of a violent confrontation, seek the closest secure shelter (thick concrete, away from windows) and stay there until it is safe to leave. Do not try to run through a battle zone. If you can see guns, the guns can see you. Grenades can get you even if you can’t see them.

If you or anybody you know is in Bangkok now, we recommend very strongly staying away from the rally zone. After dark, it is also wise to curtail unnecessary travel and avoid any busy or popular areas, especially close to the borders of the rally zone.

If you doubt the ability for the smiling, happy festival atmosphere to turn instantly into mayhem and death, feel free to review our collection of video from 10 April. If that’s still not enough evidence for you, there is plenty of video on YouTube from crackdowns on Thailand’s political protests in the 1970s and 1990s.

Today’s traffic is already horrendous. If you are out and want to head home, do it sooner rather than later.

For the latest updates
follow both nkoleszar and the redmarch list on Twitter.

Excellent advice is available at the Staying Safe in Thailand: Streetwise Advice + Twitter blog post.

Media:
Bangkok Post newspaper
The Nation newspaper
National News Bureau of Thailand
MCOT English news
TAN Network TV news
ThaiVisa.com forum Thailand News Clippings thread

Live Transport Updates:
BTS Hotline: 02 617 6000
BTS website
MRT Customer Relations Center 02 624 5200 (Mon-Fri 07.00-20.00)
MRT on Twitter
MRT on Facebook
MRT website

Humphrey is now the proud owner of a Kevlar helmet, body armour, and some unusual holiday videos. Not a lot of people shoot holiday videos that feature fireworks used against military helicopters performing night-time surveillance or M-16-toting troops at the scenes of drive-by shootings.

In the video below, it’s about 3.30am and a military helicopter swoops over the area of central Bangkok controlled by Red Shirt protesters. Most likely, the helicopter is being used to perform surveillance of the protesters and their defences. Red Shirt guards respond with a volley of firework rockets and a traditional lantern intended to foil the night vision equipment on the helicopter.

Red shirts play real-life missile command against helicopters from Humphrey Cheung on Vimeo.

The next video is taken on Friday night, shortly after a gun attack at 10.45pm that killed one police officer and injured another. Two civilians were also injured in the attack, one shot in the leg and one suffering cuts from broken glass. The dead and injured were in virtually the same place as some of the casualties of the multiple grenade attacks on April 22.

Bangkok protests – Shooting scene Krung Thai bank at Sala Daeng from Humphrey Cheung on Vimeo.

Less than three hours later, a tent housing police on the edge of Lumpini Park, less than one kilometre from this shooting was the target of another attack. Three grenades were fired from M79 launchers. One police officer died and five people – three police officers and two soldiers – were injured.

Be sure to check out Humphrey’s other videos on Vimeo.

The opposing views are hardening. With few exceptions, the language of spokespeople, party rhetoric and domestic media supports polemicists alone. Especially in a culture rooted in the avoidance of direct confrontation, the language of hatred, distrust and self-interest offers little opportunity for meaningful or progressive political discourse. Even a brief sampling of Thailand’s social-media networks reveals the ill-informed, shallow, narrow-minded and pointed views that appear destined to consign recent political rallies and their associated violent horrors to ending up as little more than transient symptoms of a hardier, longer-term set of issues.

On Thursday night, red shirts invaded the grounds of Chulalongkorn Hospital, adjacent to one end of the UDD’s barricaded rally grounds. Protesters suspected troops had secretly been installed on hospital grounds in preparation for a crackdown that has for weeks been rumoured imminent. Whatever the validity of those suspicions, invading a hospital was only ever destined to be a PR disaster for the UDD.

In the wake of this PR self-nuke, senior UDD leaders have been almost totally occupied with trying to repair the heavy damage inflicted on the movement’s image. As a conciliatory gesture, part of one of the infamous tyre-and-bamboo Mad Max barricades was dismantled to clear access to the hospital. Seh Daeng, the UDD’s on-again, off-again security affiliate, then ordered the barricade rebuilt to thwart that ‘imminent’ crackdown. UDD leaders, insisting that orders should come from them, not Seh Daeng, continue to stress that they do not want to cause upset for hospital staff or patients. Some leaders even went so far as to apologize openly for the regrettable move.

But the damage has probably been done. The hospital had already begun to shutter some non-essential services and shift patients out of its most exposed building. Following the invasion, the move turned into what the press eagerly reported as an ‘evacuation’, a stream of ambulances on Friday removing patients to other hospitals. Few news outlets squandered the opportunity to play on emotions with imagery of bed-ridden grannies, toddlers with cancer, and ‘terrified’ nurses. You could almost hear the shrieks of excitement from some journalists.

Eventually, the only patient left in the main building was the Supreme Patriarch, head of Thailand’s order of Buddhist monks. Late yesterday afternoon, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Srindhorn visited the Supreme Patriarch. On her orders, reportedly, he was moved to Siriraj Hospital, where her father HM King Bhumibol has been a patient for several months.

Earlier today, Thailand’s Prime Minister issued what appears to be the strongest statement so far that authorities would clear the Rajprasong area of protesters, warning that the government had “given people enough time to leave”. For many of the Bangkok businesses, workers and residents left increasingly-frustrated by the stress, risk and upheaval the protests have created, a crackdown cannot come soon enough.

But clearing the Rajprasong rally enclave is no simple feat. Apart from the fact that the rally site contains many women and children as well as elderly Thais, the area is ringed by some of Bangkok’s most expensive commercial and residential property.

And then, there is the politics. Not the overt red/yellow politics that has nearly paralysed Thailand for years – this is the internal politics involved in assuring the allegiance of the nation’s top- and mid-level power brokers, should the rumoured crack down become reality.

By all accounts, Thailand is in an extremely perilous state. Many people question the point of a government and Prime Minister that seem so unwilling or unable to restore law and order. There is, however, much evidence to support the thesis that the overall level of tolerance authorities have shown for the rally thus far is a strong indication of the delicate reality of Thai politics and the risks to the country should PM Abhisit Vejjajia and his allies play their cards wrong.

In simple terms, Thailand is now in an extremely dangerous place. None of the many ’solutions’ posited by foreign and domestic observers and academics fully takes into account all of the forces, interests and issues involved. Some foreign proposals have been so shockingly arrogant and ignorant that they would be laughable if 27 people had not already died and the prospect of many more casualties was not so real.

Nurses yesterday paraded through Chulalongkorn Hospital, carrying placards that implore demonstrators to show compassion for staff and patients. Several of the nurses in this video are crying. I strongly suspect the nurses were crying for their country as well as their hospital.

Things look extremely grim for Thailand right now but if any nation can ‘magic’ one out of the hat and find a solution where none seems possible, Thailand is that nation. However quickly and by whatever means this crisis is ended, I sincerely hope this video is the last time we have a real reason to cry about Thai politics.

Authorities had vowed not to let the UDD travel from the Rajprasong rally site. In the end, the procession made its way unimpeded until nearly at the destination. On the Vibhavadee-Rangsit Road, a major route through north Bangkok, dozens of riot police and troops blocked all access near the National Monument.

In the ensuing clashes, dozens were injured. Local traffic was left snarled for hours. Many motorists caught up in the clashes cowered on the seats and floors of their cars or next to their vehicles as missiles rained down on security forces and guns were fired. Tense security forces ferreted suspects out from between stopped vehicles at gunpoint, often finding yet another motorist so terrified by the events that they did not even hear the angry screams of soldiers ordering them up.

During a lull in the street battles, a shocking tragedy so typical of such events occurred when a young soldier was killed in an apparent friendly-fire incident.

In recent weeks, swarms of troops on motorbikes have been deployed as fast-reaction teams in various parts of Bangkok. A group of these soldiers arrived from the raised motorway, streaming down the exit ramp towards police lines at some speed. So far, there has been no definitive official account but in the end a young man died of a head wound, a high-velocity bullet having pierced his helmet. He was due to end his compulsory military service in two days.

For a while, it appeared that protesters were trapped in Pathum Thani. Security services were not letting them reach their destination and reports said they were not allowed to rejoin the main body of Red Shirts at the Rajprasong rally site. Shortly after lunch, authorities began to mobilize increased security presence around the rally site.

The following pictures show dozens of police in riot gear being deployed around Suriwong Road and Silom Road. The image link through to bigger versions on Picasa Web. Go straight to the album here.

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

Only metres away from the riot police, motorcycle taxi riders are utterly unperturbed. For now, chess remains the only game in this part of town.

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

Dozens of police in riot gear line up in Soi Taneeya in preparation for deployment to the ‘front line’ around the corner.

From 28 April, 2010

From 28 April, 2010

By the evening, access via area roads is gradually being shut down. Red on this map above northbound Silom, shows most traffic at a standstill.

From 28 April, 2010

Part of the traffic control system on Silom Road as authorities prepare to shut down access to the rally site about one kilometre away.

The video below shows what is possible when the police decide to clamp down on a violent group of protesters. In this case, it appears to be the pro-government anti-red protesters who clash with police and come off worst.

In the hours following the grenade attacks on the Sala Daeng Skytrain station, the area beneath and around the station on Silom Road saw skirmishes between pro- and anti-government forces, as well as between protesters and police.

The video below shows riot police picking up pace as they advance on pro-government protesters along Silom Road beneath the Sala Daeng SkyTrain station. The motorcycles that have been knocked down in the street belong to the police.

Five grenades were fired from M-79 launchers into the heart of Silom Road in Bangkok just before 8pm on Thursday night. At least three of the grenades struck the passenger platform at the Sala Daeng SkyTrain station.

It’s still difficult to confirm the number of casualties, with some sources saying three have died while the offiical death toll from the Erawan Emergency Medical Service Centre, which co-ordinates casualty accounting, says only one person has died.

At least one explosive detonated at street level and one unexploded grenade was found in a coffee shop on Silom Road, near the scene of the other attacks.

More trouble between pro-and anti-government protesters

Earlier, a large group of “multi-colour” anti-red protesters had assembled at the top of Silom Road to harangue the Red Shirts sitting behind their bamboo-and-tyre barricades on the other side of Rama IV Road.

Initial reports of Red Shirts shooting fireworks into the air and throwing large firecrackers suddenly changed into reports of explosives and injuries. Within about ten minutes, troops had shut down Silom Road between Rama IV Road and Patpong. Soldiers ordered the area cleared, the SkyTrain station was closed, and the remaining passengers and wounded were evacuated from the station.

Armed soldiers have been stationed throughout the area since the Red Shirts first threatened to rally at the Bangkok Bangkok HQ on Silom Road.

The area slowly returned to normal, which in this context means that anti-red protesters came back out of the woodwork and started hurling insults at the Red Shirts. This descended into missiles being traded similar to last night, and then fighting between Red Shirts and their foes.

There were reports of skirmishes between Red Shirts and multi-colours along several hundred meters of Silom but it appears to have calmed down now.

Video reports from the scene

This video was shot by a tourist shortly after the grenades hit the SkyTrain station. One foreign victim is briefly interviewed and you can see the holes made in the roof by the grenades.

The video contains brief footage of Silom Road as one of the grenades explodes nearby.

Some more footage of a grenade going off. It’s short but shows the anti-red protesters near the top of Silom. A grenade explodes close enough to the camera that you can see the sparks.

This video offers some extended coverage from ASTV, a Thai TV news channel run by founding PAD member Sondhi Limthongkul.

This longer footage is all in Thai and shows some of Silom Road some time after a grenade attack. WARNING: There are some pools of blood and one woman who appears to be overcome with emotion.

More local TV news coverage, this time from The Nation TTV.

After a day of rising tension, hundreds of pro-government “multi-colours” clashed with groups of anti-government Red Shirts on the edge of Silom, Bangkok’s main financial district.

Groups of pro-government protesters called “multi-colours” have been meeting on Silom in recent days to demonstrate their support for the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and their opposition to calls for the dissolution of Parliament. Though largely peaceful and swelling at lunchtimes, when many local office workers join the flag-waving roadside rallies, the tension, aggression and emotion increase noticeably in the evenings.

The emotion finally got the better of the two groups tonight at about 10pm.

A hardcore group of multicolours had assembled on the street corners at the end of Silom Road, opposite Lumpini Park where Red Shirts, fearing an imminent government crackdown on their rally up the road at Rajprasong Intersection, have erected a “Max Max”-style barricade of bamboo poles and tyres.

An the other side of the barricade, Red Shirts have maintained a mostly-festive atmosphere, even as hundreds of troops moved into the area over the last few days in response to claims by the UDD leadership that they would rally to the headquarters of Bangkok Bank on Silom Road.

For a while, the two groups simply traded insults and profanity.

At around 10pm, the vocal war was eventually supplemented by bottles, stones and other projectiles thrown or launched from slingshots. Firework rockets were occasionally fired from the Red Shirt barricade.

Some onlookers questioned why riot police failed to prevent the two groups hurling objects at each other, especially as hapless motorists continued to drive through the middle of the battle zone.

However, whenever one or more Red Shirts emerged from behind their barricade and got close enough to the “multis” for hand-to-hand combat to be waged, police stepped in to separate the groups.

So far, there appear to have been no serious injuries. One foreign man received a nasty knock on the head. He soon sported a sizeable swelling at the front of his head, which was witnessed by news cameras before medics cleaned him up and sent him away in an ambulance. As of this post, news reports say one man from each side suffered injuries and went to hospital.

After about an hour, the two sides appeared to have tired themselves out.

However, the increasing polarization of Thais on the street regarding the UDD rally, a looming deadline from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for the government to address the Red Shirts’ illegal activities by Sunday, and a raft of other calls for the government to take “quick, decisive action” are heaping enormous pressure on an already delicate situation that appears to have major long-term ramifications for Thailand’s social, political and economic well-being.

ASTV has a series of videos covering the incident.