THAI police said on Monday that a grenade was responsible for a blast at a rally by opponents of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as the number of injured rose to 12.
Organisers said the small explosion at the protest in central Bangkok late on Sunday was caused by a firecracker thrown by men on a motorcycle, but police said they now believed it was a more serious attack.
The rally by around 20,000 'Yellow Shirts' was held to condemn Thaksin's visit to neighbouring Cambodia last week and his appointment by Phnom Penh as a an economic adviser to the government.
'This M-79 grenade was likely fired from the side of the venue, where the defence ministry and a court are located,' said Lieutenant General Worapong Chewpreecha, chief of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, who added that of the 12 people wounded in the blast three remained in hospital, one of them in intensive care. Two children were among those hurt, he said.
Yellow Shirt founder Sondhi Limthongkul said on Sunday that two men on a motorbike had thrown a large firecracker, which caused the explosion.
The royalist PAD said they were also protesting against comments about the monarchy made by billionaire Thaksin, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006. The Yellow Shirts held mass rallies in the months before the coup and took to the streets again in 2008, blockading Bangkok's airports to drive out the then pro-Thaksin government. -- AFP
Organisers said the small explosion at the protest in central Bangkok late on Sunday was caused by a firecracker thrown by men on a motorcycle, but police said they now believed it was a more serious attack.
The rally by around 20,000 'Yellow Shirts' was held to condemn Thaksin's visit to neighbouring Cambodia last week and his appointment by Phnom Penh as a an economic adviser to the government.
'This M-79 grenade was likely fired from the side of the venue, where the defence ministry and a court are located,' said Lieutenant General Worapong Chewpreecha, chief of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, who added that of the 12 people wounded in the blast three remained in hospital, one of them in intensive care. Two children were among those hurt, he said.
Yellow Shirt founder Sondhi Limthongkul said on Sunday that two men on a motorbike had thrown a large firecracker, which caused the explosion.
The royalist PAD said they were also protesting against comments about the monarchy made by billionaire Thaksin, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006. The Yellow Shirts held mass rallies in the months before the coup and took to the streets again in 2008, blockading Bangkok's airports to drive out the then pro-Thaksin government. -- AFP
