.At least one protester was killed and more than 350 people injured, including two who lost their legs, after police bombarded the protesters with tear gas in a bid to end their seige of the Parliament building.

.The violence — which began shortly after 6am yesterday when the police first cleared the street outside Parliament — surged again in late afternoon, as the authorities fired countless volleys of tear gas to break through the protesters’ cordon.

.Rioting protesters also set fire to parked cars, trucks and vans.

.About a mile away from the fighting, an unidentified person was killed when a Jeep SUV exploded near the headquarters of the Chart Thai Party, a member of the six-party coalition government led by Mr Somchai. It was unclear if the blast was directly linked to the unrest.

.Before the violence escalated, the chaos prompted Deputy Premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to resignand resulted in Mr Somchai sneaking out of Parliament to avoid the mob.

.Protesters led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have occupied the grounds of the Prime Minister’s office since late August. They expanded their protest on Monday evening by marching to the nearby Parliament, and erected barbed wire and tire barricades to block Mr Somchai from delivering his first policy speech to lawmakers.

.Riot police moved in after sunrise and fired multiple rounds of tear gas canisters to clear a path for the government and lawmakers.

.Mr Somchai opened the parliamentary session -- which was boycotted by the opposition Democratic Party -- after a 90-minute delay but as he spoke, chaos escalated outside the building. Anti-government protesters regrouped and barricaded all four entrances to the Parliament.

.Police bombarded the demonstrators with tear gas throughout the day to try and disperse about 8,000 protestors. They eventually created an exit for trapped lawmakers to leave the building.

.According to The Nation, Prime Minister Somchai and five aides left the building earlier by taking the stairs which lean on the fence of a nearby royal mansion and climbing over the fence.

.The newspaper said officials in charge of the mansion had to use clothes to cover sharp points of the fence for Mr Somchai. He then boarded a helicopter which took him to the Supreme Command headquarters.

.Later in the day, Mr Somchai said he would not resign or declare a state of emergency in the kingdom.

.“I will continue my work,” he told reporters.

.Last evening, army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said that “we have been asked by the police to help maintain law and order”.

.“The troops that are out are unarmed,” he told AFP without specifying how many soldiers had been deployed.

.Yesterday’s events were the latest twist in a political crisis that has gripped Thailand for six weeks and virtually paralysed the government.

.The protest alliance says Mr Somchai, who took office on Sept 25, is yet another proxy for his brother-in-law, ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
.The alliance wants the country to abandon the system of one-man, one-vote, and instead have a mixed system in which some representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups.

.Mr Chavalit, the deputy prime minister in charge of security, was seen as a key figure in helping the government to resolve the crisis. But newly-opened talks between the two sides were jeopardised over the weekend with the arrest of two key PAD leaders.

.“What happened was partly my responsibility in failing to resolve the conflict,” Mr Chavalit said in his resignation letter.

.Thai political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said the PAD was protesting against the democratic system in Thailand.

.“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 told AFP. AGENCIES.

PM flees Parliament, army chief quellscoup rumours

.BANGKOK — In a day of fast-moving events that saw riot police clashing with protesters and soldiers being deployed on the streets, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was forced to flee Parliament yesterday by climbing over a fence before being whisked to safety.

.At least one protester was killed and more than 350 people injured, including two who lost their legs, after police bombarded the protesters with tear gas in a bid to end their seige of the Parliament building.

.The violence — which began shortly after 6am yesterday when the police first cleared the street outside Parliament — surged again in late afternoon, as the authorities fired countless volleys of tear gas to break through the protesters’ cordon.

.Rioting protesters also set fire to parked cars, trucks and vans.

.About a mile away from the fighting, an unidentified person was killed when a Jeep SUV exploded near the headquarters of the Chart Thai Party, a member of the six-party coalition government led by Mr Somchai. It was unclear if the blast was directly linked to the unrest.

.Before the violence escalated, the chaos prompted Deputy Premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to resignand resulted in Mr Somchai sneaking out of Parliament to avoid the mob.

.Protesters led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have occupied the grounds of the Prime Minister’s office since late August. They expanded their protest on Monday evening by marching to the nearby Parliament, and erected barbed wire and tire barricades to block Mr Somchai from delivering his first policy speech to lawmakers.

.Riot police moved in after sunrise and fired multiple rounds of tear gas canisters to clear a path for the government and lawmakers.

.Mr Somchai opened the parliamentary session -- which was boycotted by the opposition Democratic Party -- after a 90-minute delay but as he spoke, chaos escalated outside the building. Anti-government protesters regrouped and barricaded all four entrances to the Parliament.

.Police bombarded the demonstrators with tear gas throughout the day to try and disperse about 8,000 protestors. They eventually created an exit for trapped lawmakers to leave the building.

.According to The Nation, Prime Minister Somchai and five aides left the building earlier by taking the stairs which lean on the fence of a nearby royal mansion and climbing over the fence.

.The newspaper said officials in charge of the mansion had to use clothes to cover sharp points of the fence for Mr Somchai. He then boarded a helicopter which took him to the Supreme Command headquarters.

.Later in the day, Mr Somchai said he would not resign or declare a state of emergency in the kingdom.

.“I will continue my work,” he told reporters.

.Last evening, army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said that “we have been asked by the police to help maintain law and order”.

.“The troops that are out are unarmed,” he told AFP without specifying how many soldiers had been deployed.

.Yesterday’s events were the latest twist in a political crisis that has gripped Thailand for six weeks and virtually paralysed the government.

.The protest alliance says Mr Somchai, who took office on Sept 25, is yet another proxy for his brother-in-law, ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
.The alliance wants the country to abandon the system of one-man, one-vote, and instead have a mixed system in which some representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups.

.Mr Chavalit, the deputy prime minister in charge of security, was seen as a key figure in helping the government to resolve the crisis. But newly-opened talks between the two sides were jeopardised over the weekend with the arrest of two key PAD leaders.

.“What happened was partly my responsibility in failing to resolve the conflict,” Mr Chavalit said in his resignation letter.

.Thai political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said the PAD was protesting against the democratic system in Thailand.

.“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 told AFP. AGENCIES.

PM flees Parliament, army chief quellscoup rumours

.BANGKOK — In a day of fast-moving events that saw riot police clashing with protesters and soldiers being deployed on the streets, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was forced to flee Parliament yesterday by climbing over a fence before being whisked to safety.

.At least one protester was killed and more than 350 people injured, including two who lost their legs, after police bombarded the protesters with tear gas in a bid to end their seige of the Parliament building.

.The violence — which began shortly after 6am yesterday when the police first cleared the street outside Parliament — surged again in late afternoon, as the authorities fired countless volleys of tear gas to break through the protesters’ cordon.

.Rioting protesters also set fire to parked cars, trucks and vans.

.About a mile away from the fighting, an unidentified person was killed when a Jeep SUV exploded near the headquarters of the Chart Thai Party, a member of the six-party coalition government led by Mr Somchai. It was unclear if the blast was directly linked to the unrest.

.Before the violence escalated, the chaos prompted Deputy Premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to resignand resulted in Mr Somchai sneaking out of Parliament to avoid the mob.