BANGKOK -- (UPDATE 2) Thailand on Tuesday deployed troops to quell anti-government protests in Bangkok that left at least one woman dead and 278 people hurt as months of political turmoil boiled over into violence, officials said.
"One woman protester died here. We don't know her name yet but she was in her 20s," an official at Bangkok's Ramathibodi Hospital told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The official, who did not want to be named as she was not authorized to speak to the media, would not reveal the cause of death.
There were scenes of chaos outside Bangkok's parliament as police fired tear gas into the crowd of thousands, sending bloody protesters fleeing, while angry mobs tried to overturn police vehicles, an AFP correspondent saw.
Two Thai police officers were shot and wounded in the unrest, witnesses said, which capped months of demonstrations aimed at removing Thailand's elected government because of its ties to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
A man was killed in a car bombing near the protest site, police said, although they said it was unclear if the blast was directly linked to the violence. Police had earlier identified the victim as a woman.
"We have been asked by the police to help maintain law and order," army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told AFP, without specifying how many soldiers had been deployed.
"The troops that are out are unarmed. Troops are coming from three armed forces -- army, navy and air force."
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat -- who has only been in his position for three weeks -- said he would not declare a state of emergency or resign as the protests escalated.
"I will continue my work," he told reporters. When asked about emergency rule, Somchai said he was "not thinking of that at all."
Government medical officials said 21 people had suffered serious injuries as police tried to disperse several thousand 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 over a fence to escape the mob, an AFP correspondent said.
At about 4:15 p.m. (0915 GMT), police fired off a third rally of tear gas to disperse about 8,000 protesters and create an exit for the trapped politicians, who hurried out of the building and drove away in waiting cars.
The political turmoil began here in late May when protesters launched their campaign to overthrow the government because of its ties to Thaksin, who was ousted in a September 2006 coup.
Supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stormed Bangkok's main government compound on August 26 and have been barricaded there since, also protesting the government's plans to amend the constitution.
Late Monday, thousands heeded a call from a protest leader to march on parliament for a "final battle."
One of Thailand's five deputy prime ministers, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, resigned over the crackdown, saying his role as chief negotiator with the protesters had been compromised.
One man had his left foot amputated after being injured in the unrest.
Parliament went ahead with its session on Tuesday despite a boycott by the opposition Democrat Party in protest against the crackdown.
Somchai said in his speech that his new administration was "determined to create national reconciliation."
Thai media, meanwhile, announced that Queen Sirikit was donating 100,000 baht ($3,000) to pay medical expenses for the wounded protesters, who claim they are carrying out their campaign out of loyalty to the palace.
The People Power Party won elections in December last year that marked the end of military rule brought in by the 2006 coup, but the old power elite in the palace and military resented the return to power of Thaksin's allies.
Former prime minister Samak Sundaravej was forced from office in September, after a court ruled he had accepted illegal payments for a TV show, and his successor Somchai formed his new government last month.
Somchai -- Thaksin's brother-in-law -- has urged the PAD to leave his offices by November and opened talks with the protest leaders.
Those talks were jeopardized over the weekend with the arrest of PAD head Chamlong Srimuang and protest organizer Chaiwat Sinsuwong.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, told AFP that the PAD were protesting against the democratic system in Thailand, raising the specter of a prolonged crisis.
"This is the end of Thailand as we know it ... and the PAD is the spearhead of this right-wing conservative reassertion. There's no quick end here," he said.(inquirer.net)
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