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At least three killed, dozens injured in a blast in Bangkok's shopping district
ABC Radio Australia - February 24, 2014
Two children and a woman were killed when a grenade was thrown outside a major supermarket in a popular downtown commercial district.
Residents say they heard a loud explosion, then saw blood and debris on the ground. It was not immediately clear who was responsible.
It's the latest attack in a weekend of violence that has left three dead and dozens injured after multiple attacks at anti-government protest sites.
On Saturday night, gunmen opened fire on a rally site in Trat province, 300 kilometres east of Bangkok. Two explosive devices were also thrown into the crowd. A five-year-old girl died from her wounds and 34 people were hurt, many critically.
On the Friday evening, as families strolled the inner city, a grenade was lobbed into a crowd, injuring seven.
In a statement on Facebook, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, 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."
Police mobilised a week before to clear the streets have failed in that bid. A Thai court has ruled they must not disperse the crowds meaning the State of Emergency in place in Bangkok is all but meaningless.
Anti-government protesters have blocked main Bangkok intersections for weeks with tents, tyres and sandbags, seeking to unseat Ms Yingluck and halt the influence of her billionaire brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, an ousted former premier regarded by many as the real power behind the government.
Leaders of the pro-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) had vowed to "deal with" anti-government leader Suthep Thaugsuban, setting the scene for possible confrontation between pro- and anti-government groups.
Presenting a further headache for Ms Yingluck, Thailand's anti-corruption body filed charges against her last week over a rice subsidy scheme that has left hundreds of farmers, her natural backers, unpaid. Ms Yingluck is due to hear the charges on Thursday.
The protests are the biggest since deadly political unrest in 2010, when Mr Thaksin's "red shirt" supporters paralysed Bangkok in an attempt to remove a government led by the Democrat Party, now the opposition. More than 90 people were killed and 2,000 wounded in those clashes. (ABC/Wires)
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