http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8638942.stm
Riot police face Thai protesters after violent night
Anti-government protesters in Bangkok on 23 April 2010
Six weeks of protests are severely challenging the Thai government
Hundreds of riot police have moved up to confront red-shirt anti-government protesters in Bangkok's city centre.
But the police stepped back from immediate confrontation after a night in which five explosions killed at least one person and wounded 75.
Britain, the US and Australia have issued new warnings against travelling to Thailand after another night of violence and tension.
Six weeks of protests are severely challenging the Thai government.
Pressure is rising on the government to find a way out of the conflict but room for negotiation appears to be slim, the BBC's Vaudine England in Bangkok says.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said through a spokesman that it was "a moment requiring restraint on all sides".
Rising tension
The police moved right across the main Rama IV road to face up to the red-shirt barricades for about two hours early on Friday, only to pull back again.
Protesters were hurling abuse and waving sharpened bamboo spikes - to impassive stares from the security forces across the road.
The government will be very decisive but in the beginning of the operation there may be chaos
Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, army spokesman
At least 75 people, many of them commuters on Bangkok's elevated train system, the Skytrain, are being treated in hospitals around the focus of Thursday night's tension in the Silom area of Bangkok.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the explosions were M79 grenades.
He said they had originated from a southern corner of Bangkok's Lumpini Park, which is behind the red-shirts barricade.
But red-shirt leaders denied all responsibility for the explosions, saying they were not in the business of hurting innocent people.
"The authorities are conducting an investigation, but it's too soon to give any conclusion," government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.
"This is the work of the terrorists that the government has always been wanting to get rid off."
Bangkok has been on edge for days as the armed forces and senior government figures have repeatedly issued warnings to the red-shirt protesters to leave the centre of the city.
Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Thursday that "time was running out" and that many people would be hurt if a new crackdown was ordered.
"The government will be very decisive but in the beginning of the operation there may be chaos."
Foreigners injured
Some of the "anti-red" protesters - who have gathered alongside the troops - and have called on the government to be more firm against the reds, our correspondent says.
However, the armed forces Commander-in-Chief, Gen Anupong Paojinda, insists he is seeking a peaceful way out of the political conflict.
Britain is advising against all but essential travel to Bangkok, while the US and Australian governments warnings advised against travel to Thailand.
Thai emergency services have refused to confirm the government's claim that three people died in Thursday night's violence.
They say one woman died; among those injured were an Australian, and American and an Indonesian.
Are you in Bangkok? Have you witnessed any clashes? Send us your experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures to
[email protected] or text them to +44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here.
At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.
In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location, unless you state otherwise in the box below.
