Thailand's public health ministry has raised the toll of injuries from street protests in the capital, saying that two people had died and 123 were wounded, two of them seriously.
It said yesterday the two deaths were caused by shooting during clashes between demonstrators and local residents a day earlier.
''There are 123 wounded, two died and 50 have been hospitalised including two who are in a serious condition but out of danger,'' the ministry said.
''Both victims were men from Bangkok who fought with protesters Monday evening.''
Anti-government protesters who penned themselves in near Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's office with roadblocks abandoned their three-week rally yesterday as the army threatened them with a final military offensive.
Cabinet minister Satit Wonghnongtaey said that three residents had been shot by protesters, clad in red shirts and loyal to ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and that one 54-year-old had died in hospital.
An official at the privately-run Hua Chiew Hospital near the clash site said that a 19-year-old man had also been killed and five others taken to hospital with injuries.
Officials at Bangkok General Hospital confirmed the death of the 54-year-old and said they were treating two more men, one 39-year-old shot in the foot and a 51-year-old man who was bruised.
Mr Abhisit said 23 troops were among the injured.
Anti-government protesters massed outside the Thai premier's offices in Bangkok said they would disperse as troops backed by armoured vehicles tightened their grip on the city.
Protest leader Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, said, ''We held talks among the leaders since last night and have agreed that we will disperse our protesters for a while,'' adding they wanted to avert loss of life.
''We are not surrendering, we are just dispersing the gathering because we have done nothing wrong,'' she said, after reports that protesters loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra would give themselves up.
The announcement came after security forces tightened a cordon around 2000 protesters left at the site.
The Government said it wanted a peaceful end to the crisis, after security forces on Monday used tear gas and automatic weapons to clear the rest of Bangkok which remains under a state of emergency of pro-Thaksin demonstrators.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said, ''Today we will rely on negotiation and pressure with the protesters. We still have time although we want the situation to end swiftly.''
He added the Government was ready to compromise by allowing demonstrators to rally in areas that would permit Mr Abhisit to return to work at his offices by Thursday.
Hundreds of soldiers brandishing assault rifles and carrying riot shields moved closer shortly after Mr Panitan spoke, and armouredvehicles blocked off all access access to Government House.
The military used loudspeakers mounted on trucks to issue further warnings to disperse or face the consequences.
Mr Abhisit has hailed the success of the military campaign to dislodge protesters, amid fears of a repeat of the violence in Bangkok last October in which two people died and 500 were injured.
The Red Shirts want Mr Abhisit to quit and call new elections but analysts say there is little hope of a long-term solution to Thailand's problems so long as it remains divided between Mr Thaksin's mostly poor supporters and his foes in the power circles of the palace, military and bureaucracy.
AFP
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