A Thai soldier was shot to death on Wednesday and five people were injured after troops opened fire on anti-government red-shirt protesters that charged them with homemade weapons.
The clash occurred when a group of 2,000 red-shirt protesters in pickups and on motorbikes left their fortified protest ground in Bangkok to go to the outskirts of the city, ABC reports.
Protest leader Nattawut Saikuar told ABC that the protesters went to an area where red shirts had been arrested on Monday after attempting to block security forces from reaching the capital.
Soldiers fired rubber bullets at the convoy, it is unclear whether they also fired live rounds. Previously, military leaders had warned that troops would use live rounds if threatened.
The red shirts are demanding the country’s prime minister step down and call new elections. They have engulfed Bangkok for seven weeks now and have occupied the city’s commercial district.
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