Explosion, gunfire heard in Bangkok

An explosion and gunfire rang out near a sprawling anti-government protest site in the Thai capital early on Tuesday after the protest leader warned that government supporters were planning to bring armed militants to Bangkok.

National security chief Paradorn Pattanathabutr told Reuters that the explosion and gunfire took place near a protest site on the edge of Bangkok’s Lumpini Park.

Two men were wounded, medical sources said.

Weeks of unrest, in which protesters have barricaded several Bangkok intersections, have been interrupted by occasional bombs and gunfire, with one blast killing a woman and a young brother and sister in a shopping district on Sunday.

"Last night, we don't know where and who it came from, but there was an explosion and the sound of gunfire from 1 a.m.," Paradorn said. "Officials will investigate the area this morning and there should be more information soon."

He also said there was an explosion near the office of the opposition Democrat Party, though no one was hurt.

The protesters, whose disruption of a general election this month left Thailand in political limbo, aim to unseat Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and erase the influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was outsted in 2006 and is seen by many as the power behind the government.

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded since the protests began in November.

Demonstrators accuse former telecoms tycoon Thaksin of nepotism and corruption and say that, prior to being ousted by the army, he used taxpayers' money for populist policies such as a controversial subsidy for rice farmers and easy loans that bought him the loyalty of millions.

In a bit of good news for Yingluck, the Election Commission approved a $21.87 million fund to be drawn from the central budget for rice farmers, some of whom have been waiting months for payment under a state subsidy scheme.

The sum will go some way towards appeasing the farmers, who protested in Bangkok last week demanding to speak to Yingluck, but is a tiny fraction of funds the government needs to pay to nearly a million rural workers.

Reuters