Bangkok gripped by looting, arson

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Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Representatives receiving a memento from Canada Business Delegation leader Steve McLellan in Chittagong.

BANGKOK, May 19 (AFP): Huge fires swept through major buildings in central Bangkok Wednesday as looting and arson gripped the Thai capital after a deadly army crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Plumes of black smoke billowed across the skyline in the aftermath of the military operation against the protesters' fortified camp which left at least five people dead and led the leaders of the "Red Shirt" movement to surrender.
The authorities said enraged protesters -- some wearing black and carrying automatic weapons -- went on the rampage and set fire to at least 15 buildings.
Military officials told AFP a helicopter had been dispatched to try to rescue at least 100 people trapped in the offices of the Channel 3 TV station after it was attacked and set on fire.
Blazes were also reported at Central World, one of Southeast Asia's largest shopping centres, the Stock Exchange of Thailand, a branch of an electricity company and a bank.
The government imposed an 8:00 pm (1300 GMT) to 6:00 am curfew on Bangkok in a bid to quell the eruption of violence but the authorities admitted that parts of the capital were still outside their control.
The unrest began when armoured vehicles backed by armed troops firing live rounds smashed through barricades erected around the Red Shirts' sprawling base.
A tearful protest leader later announced on stage that the Reds would end their occupation of the upscale shopping and hotel district in the heart of the capital where they have been camped for six weeks.
At least four top Reds later went to the police headquarters nearby to give themselves up. The government said earlier some others had already fled.
An Italian photographer was among those shot dead during the clashes at one end of the rally base, which stretched for several kilometres (miles) and had been fortified with barricades made with tyres, bamboo stakes and razor wire.
Four more people died and "many" were wounded, said a police spokesman, Major General Piya Uthayo. The Police Hospital said 19 people were wounded, including several other foreign journalists.
The Red Shirts had defied a government deadline to leave by Monday. A military lockdown to seal off the site that was launched last Thursday had left more than 40 dead in six days of violence.
Several thousand protesters, including many women and children, were inside the rally base when the army moved in.
Meanwhile, Reuters adds: As Thai troops staged a bloody operation to disperse anti-government protesters Wednesday, thousands of red shirt supporters in a fortified camp appeared calm. Some were eating or sleeping. Others prepared for battle.
Protesters showed no obvious sign of fear, as gunfights raged at the entrance to their encampment, and as troops broke through burning barricades that sent black smoke engulfing office towers, hotels, malls and embassies in Bangkok's commercial district. "I'm not scared, I will fight all he way for democracy. We're not armed, we having nothing. They have guns. We are here in peace, " said protester Somkiet Thongdamuang, a 38-year-old farmer from Kampheng Phet province.