Thai soldiers respond with gunfire, tear gas at anti-government protest

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thai soldiers sprayed automatic weapons fire and threw tear gas to clear anti-government protesters from a major intersection in the capital in the pre-dawn darkness today, with at least 70 people reported injured. Demonstrators responded by hurling at least one gasoline bomb at a line of troops.

The clash marked an escalation in the ongoing protests in this southeast Asian nation. The skirmish came a day after the country's ousted prime minister called for a revolution.

While the government has declared a state of emergency, protesters controlled many streets in the capital Bangkok. They had earlier commandeered public buses and forced military vehicles to halt, in one case climbing on top of two armored personnel carriers, waving flags and shouting "Democracy."

The demonstrators are supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who want new elections, saying Abhisit's four-month-old government took power illegitimately. They also accuse the country's elite -- the military, judiciary and other unelected officials -- of undermining democracy by interfering in politics.

Parliament appointed Abhisit in December after a court ordered the removal of the previous pro-Thaksin government, citing fraud in the 2007 elections. Thaksin supporters took to the streets in protest, and their numbers grew to 100,000 in Bangkok last week.

The clash began between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. as troops in full combat gear advanced to disperse the protesters, who were occupying a major junction, witnesses said.

The soldiers fired hundreds of rounds from their M-16 automatic rifles, with reporters saying most appeared to have been aimed over the heads of the protesters. The reporters saw protesters throw at least one gasoline bomb. which exploded behind the army line.

Dr. Chatri Charoenchivakul of the Erawan Emergency Coordination Center said at least 70 people were injured, most of them from tear gas, while two soldiers and two civilians suffered gunshot wounds.

Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the protesters also used tear gas as well as "weapons" to open fire on the soldiers.