Troops deployed as one dies, hundreds hurt in protests

BANGKOK (AFP) - Clashes between protesters and Thai police on Tuesday left at least one dead and hundreds injured, with the army deployed as months of political turmoil boiled over into violence, officials said.

There were scenes of chaos outside Bangkok's parliament as police fired tear gas into the crowd of thousands, sending bloody protesters fleeing. Angry mobs overturned police vehicles and fired guns, AFP correspondents said.

One female protester was killed during clashes after suffering internal injuries, a doctor from a Bangkok hospital said.

Eight police officers were shot or stabbed in the unrest, police said, which capped months of demonstrations aimed at removing Thailand's elected government because of its ties to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

"The government does not consider (the protests) peaceful," said government spokesman Nattawut Saikua. "They are armed militants with guns and hand grenades and move with clear purpose to seize key government installations."

A man was killed in a car bombing near the protest site, although police said it was unclear if the blast was linked to the violence.

An army spokesman said police had called the military in to help quell protests but the powerful army chief quickly sought to reassure Thailand that there would be no military takeover in the coup-prone kingdom.

Army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told AFP that unarmed troops from the army, navy and air force were being deployed "across Bangkok, not just at the flash points, to maintain law and order".

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who has only been in post for three weeks, said earlier he would not declare a state of emergency or resign as the protests escalated.

Government medical officials said 410 people had been injured, with 49 hospitalised, as police tried to disperse thousands of protesters surrounding parliament to try to prevent Somchai from giving his first policy speech.

The address went ahead but the special parliamentary session ended after two hours and protesters blockaded lawmakers inside, forcing Somchai and five aides to climb a fence to escape the mob, an AFP correspondent said.

Police bombarded the demonstrators with tear gas throughout the day to try and disperse the protesters and all the legislators eventually escaped.

As night fell Tuesday, bands of protesters remained in the streets around parliament, but the majority returned to the Government House protest camp.

Meanwhile, a recently appointed deputy prime minister in Thailand, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, resigned on Tuesday because of a crackdown on fresh anti-government protests.

In a resignation letter seen by AFP, Chavalit, one of five deputy prime ministers, said his role as chief negotiator with demonstrators had been compromised.

"The reason I resign is because what the security officials have done is not in line with what I had promised and I have attempted to avoid casualties," Chavalit's letter said.

Recently appointed Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat had tasked Chavalit with ending a six-week occupation of the main government compound by the People's Alliance for Democracy, a coalition of protesters calling on the government to step down.