Thai Army Battles Protesters

Dozens of people were injured today as the Thai military moved to crush protests causing chaos in Bangkok. Soldiers opened fire at demonstrators who had taken control of a major junction and set fire to a bus they had commandeered. Most aimed over the protesters' heads but some fired live rounds directly into the crowd, a BBC correspondent at the scene reports.

The chief of the armed forces vowed to restore order "by all possible means," although he promised troops would only use their weapons in self-defense. Thousands of the red-shirted protesters, supporters of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, remain camped around Bangkok's Government House and more shots have been fired as troops move into the area, Reuters reports.
(More Thailand stories.)