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Reuters


Watch: Scenes from Bangkok market explosion
An explosion killed two people and wounded at least 22 in a busy shopping district of the Thai capital yesterday, hours after supporters of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to get tough with demonstrators paralysing parts of the city, raising tension in the strife-torn country.
But it was not immediately clear who was responsible for the explosion.
The explosion occurred near one of the few large protest sites remaining, leaving a trail of blood and sandals on the streets of the Ratchaprasong shopping area.

	The thing we are trying to avoid at all costs is a civil war and any kind of confrontation

	UDD spokesman Thanawut Wichaidit
Three children suffered serious head injuries, Erawan Medical Centre, which monitors hospitals, said. One died.
"One boy who we understand was 12 years old has died from injuries sustained in the blast. Another child is undergoing an operation and a third is still in the emergency room with us," said a nurse at Ramathibodi Hospital in central Bangkok.
Erawan said a 40-year-old woman was also killed.
In a statement on Facebook, Yingluck, who has not been seen in public for days, branded the violence terrorism.
"I strongly condemn the use of violence in recent days ... since the lives of children were lost," she said. "The violent incidents are terrorist acts for political gains without regard for human life."

The crisis pits mostly middle-class anti-government protesters from Bangkok and the south against supporters of Yingluck from the rural north and northeast of the country.
Both sides have blamed the other for instigating violence. Armed provocateurs have a history of trying to stir tension in Thailand and both protesters and the police have also blamed violence on shadowy third parties.
Leaders of the pro-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) - also known as the "red-shirts" - have vowed to "deal with" anti-government leader Suthep Thaugsuban. "This fight will be harder than any other ... You must think how we can deal with Suthep and those supporting him," Jatuporn Prompan, a UDD leader and senior member of the ruling Puea Thai party, told thousands of cheering supporters in Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast of the capital.

It was unclear whether Jatuporn was calling for an armed struggle, but he spoke just hours after gunmen shot at an anti-government protest stage and threw explosive devices in the Khao Saming district of the eastern province of Trat, killing a five-year-old girl, and wounding 41 people.
Anti-government protesters have blocked main Bangkok intersections for weeks with tents, tyres and sandbags, seeking to unseat Yingluck and halt the influence of her billionaire brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, an ousted former prime minister regarded by many as the real power behind the government.
Thanawut Wichaidit, a spokesman for the UDD, said a strategy to counter anti-government protests in Bangkok had yet to be worked out, but that the movement wanted to avert a civil war. "We want to fight peacefully, without weapons, but we have not yet decided how we will proceed," Thanawut said.
"The thing we are trying to avoid at all costs is a civil war and any kind of confrontation."



Bomb kills two and wounds 22 in busy shopping district in Thai capital

Soldiers and police inspect the site of a blast near an anti-government rally in Bangkok. Photo: AFP


A Thai soldier gestures at the site of bomb blast near an anti-government rally in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

A shoe and a cap are seen near blood stains following a bomb blast in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

Thai police watch over as anti-government protesters stage a demonstration. Photo: AFP

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Photo: Reuters

Gunmen kill girl, 8, and wound dozens after opening fire on Thai anti-government rally

A protester injured in an anti-government rally arrives for treatment at a hospital in Trat Province, 300 kilometres east of Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: AP

An onlooker peers into an upturned vehicle following riots in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

Vehicles upturned during riots lie in the middle of the road in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

A Thai military police officer inspects the scene of a bomb blast near an anti-government protest site in Bangkok on Friday night. Photo: EPA

Thai protesters shun products linked to Yingluck Shinawatra's family

Protesters line up to cancel phone contracts. Photo: AP

Anti-government protesters in Bangkok cancel mobile phone contracts with AIS, a mobile phone company founded by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on Saturday. Photo: AP

Angry farmers call off protest at Bangkok airport

Farmers drive their tractors and other farm vehicles towards Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

Thailand protesters target Shinawatra businesses as Yingluck fights funds-related charges

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Photo: Reuters

Thai anti-government protesters shout slogans as they rally in front of the temporary office of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a rally to shut down Bangkok's Shinawatra Tower III office building, partly owned by the premier's family. Photo: EPA

protesters gather outside a business building owned by SC Asset Corporation. Photo: Reuters

A farmer reacts as she takes part in a rally demanding the Yingluck administration to resolve delays in payment of rice. Farmers outside the capital were heading to Bangkok for a fresh round of protests. Photo: Reuters

Thai soldiers stand guard as protesters rally in front of Yingluck's temporary office. A court ruling this week has ordered officers not to use force to disperse the protests. Photo: EPA

Thai court bans use of violence against peaceful protests

An anti-government protester waves a Thai national flag at the compound of the Office of the Defence Permanent Secretary in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Gun battles broke out on Tuesday as hundreds of riot police made their strongest attempt to clear anti-government protest sites around Thailand's capital, killing several people and injuring scores of others. Photo: AP

News

Asia

At least two killed in Bangkok blast after pro-Yingluck red-shirt leader tells group to 'deal with' anti-government protesters 


The explosion occurred near one of the few large protest sites remaining, leaving a trail of blood and sandals on the streets of the Ratchaprasong shopping area.


Bomb kills two and wounds 22 in busy shopping district in Thai capital

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}At least two killed in Bangkok blast after pro-Yingluck red-shirt leader tells group to 'deal with' anti-government protesters

At least two killed in Bangkok blast after pro-Yingluck red-shirt leader tells group to 'deal with' anti-government protesters