Thailand's red-shirted protesters remained defiantly camped on the streets of Bangkok yesterday after 20 people died in a night of bloodshed, and an opposition leader ruled out talks with the government.
The worst political violence to hit Thailand in almost two decades began on Saturday night after security forces launched an unsuccessful attempt to end more than a month of demonstrations in the heart of the capital. Troops used live rounds, tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators in the streets surrounding the Democracy Monument in old Bangkok.
But the protesters managed to keep the troops at bay with a hail of petrol bombs, rocks, water bottles and – according to the security forces – gunfire.