Clashes continue in Bangkok as death toll mounts

In the Thai capital, the number of people killed in clashes continued to climb as soldiers tried for the second consecutive day to clear thousands of Red Shirt protesters from the city's streets.

Thai soldiers fired on the protesters, who retaliated by throwing fire bombs and launching homemade rockets. Sixteen people have been killed and 157 have been injured since Thai troops moved to route the protesters on Thursday.

Friday's violence followed the attempted assassination of Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol -- a rogue Thai army general whom the government blamed for creating a paramilitary group on behalf of the Red Shirts.

The 59-year-old Khattiya was shot in the head while speaking to reporters Thursday.

Thai army spokesperson Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd denied that the military was responsible for the shooting.

"It has nothing to do with the military. It has never been our policy (to assassinate). We have been avoiding violence," he said.

Now in intensive care, Khattiya "could die at any moment," said Dr. Chaiwan Charoenchokthawee.

Less than two hours before he was shot, Khattiya told an Associated Press reporter that he expected troops would enter the protest zone by the end of Thursday night.

The protests began in March as the so-called Red Shirt protesters began gathering in parts of downtown Bangkok, pushing for the ouster of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Since then, the protesters have grown in number and have camped out in a three-square-kilometre area of the Thai capital where many upscale shops, hotels and banks are located. They have set up a bamboo stick-and-tire perimeter and have resisted overtures from the Thai government to get them to leave.

In total, 37 people have been killed and more than 1,400 have been wounded.

It is estimated that 10,000 protesters are currently crammed into the protest area, including women and children. The government started surrounding their position yesterday, trying to seal off the area.

"We are being surrounded. We are being crushed. The soldiers are closing in on us. This is not a civil war yet, but it's very, very cruel," Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader, told The Associated Press.

Canadian wounded

A Canadian journalist was shot three times in the clashes. He is expected to survive his injuries, a colleague said Friday.

Nelson Rand was shot while covering the unrest surrounding the ongoing anti-government protests in the Thai capital, as government troops used guns and tear gas to dispel protesters from the U.S. and Japanese embassies.

Rand was working as a correspondent for the France 24 television network when he was hit in the abdomen, hand and leg. He later underwent four hours of surgery in a Thai hospital.

Derek Thomson, the network's senior producer, said doctors have since said "he is out of danger and they expect him to recover."

"What a relief. It's an editor's worst nightmare to hear that something has happened in the field where you don't know what's going on and you just hear very piecemeal information."

Rand has lived in Southeast Asia for 10 years and is the author of "Conflict: Journeys through war and terror in Southeast Asia."

According to a biography from his Dublin-based publisher, Rand previously worked for the Embassy of Canada in Thailand, and studied at the University of British Columbia.

Rand was one of three journalists wounded in the Thai capital on Friday.

A VoiceTV news website cameraman was shot in the thigh and a Matichon newspaper photographer was shot in the leg, according to news reports on Friday.

Canadian embassy staff have relocated to an emergency location amid the unrest in the Thai capital. The U.S., Japanese, British, New Zealand and Dutch embassies were each closed to the public Friday.

In an area near the embassies, protesters clashed with soldiers who pleaded for them to communicate.

"We are the people's army. We are just doing our duty for the nation. Brothers and sisters, let's talk together," the soldiers said through a loudspeaker.

In a separate incident, a 33-year-old-man died of a gunshot wound linked to the protests, said Suwinai Busarakamwong, a doctor at Kluay Namthai Hospital.

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press