BANGKOK, April 28 (UPI) -- Thailand's anti-government protesters and Thai security personnel clashed Wednesday outside Bangkok, as police tried to keep protesters from a rally site.
CNN reported the situation as quite tense with a large deployment of riot police at the scene.
A rescue agency reported at least eight protesters known as red shirts were injured in the clashes while police were quoted as saying one soldier died in friendly fire.
The clashes began after security forces took up positions along a major highway outside the capital to prevent a protester convoy from reaching a rally site. The protesters in turn tried to stop security forces from proceeding to Bangkok.
The protesters have been conducting their activities since last month from their base in Bangkok's main business district, demanding the dissolution of parliament by the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva but the government so far has been firm in rejecting the demands. Most of the protesters are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006.
Prime Minister Abhisit told the BBC Tuesday his government wants a political solution to the current crisis.
"There is a clear threat that if we hold elections too soon, with the mood running as high in terms of divisions and in terms of tension, elections would turn violent and they would solve nothing and we could be back into this vicious cycle of demonstrations," he said.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Thailand is a member, warned the protests could lead to economic and political instability in the region, Voice of America reported.
Since the start of the protests, more than two dozen civilians and security forces have been killed and several hundred injured in explosions and clashes between police and the protesters in Bangkok. The protests also have severely affected businesses and tourism in Thailand.
