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Renegade Thai general shot in head

By Channel 4 News

Updated on 13 May 2010

An anti-government Thai general known as Commander Red has been shot in the head, soon after a deadline for troops to seal a Bangkok protest camp passed.

Khattiya Sawasdipol shot in head

Khattiya Sawasdipol, a suspended army specialist in charge of security at an encampment occupied by thousands of demonstrators, was rushed to an intensive care ward.

Khattiya, better known as "Seh Daeng" (Commander Red), was dubbed a "terrorist" by Thailand's government, which accuses him of involvement in dozens of mysterious grenade attacks that have wounded more than 100 people.

Several Thai and foreign reporters said Khattiya was shot while being interviewed by them. "It's a clear attempt to decapitate the red shirt military leadership," said Anthony Davies, a security consultant with IHS-Jane's.

"It's a smart tactical move that will cause confusion in the red shirts' military ranks and send a message to the leadership that if they don't want to negotiate and come out, they can expect extreme consequences."

When the bullet struck him, Khattiya was inside the barricaded red shirt encampment, facing a road, overpass and a business district with several tall buildings, said the New York Times, which was interviewing him at the time.

He was answering a question about whether the Thai military would be able to penetrate the area, when he was shot.

Around the same time as Khattiya's shooting, a loud blast was heard, followed by bursts of automatic gunfire near the heavily guarded business district.

Hours later, troops at a nearby park fired into the air as protesters tried to block their movements.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is under enormous pressure to end the violent political crisis that has killed 29 people, wounded more than 1,400, paralysed parts of the capital and slowed growth in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

Yesterday he cancelled a proposed 14 November election under his "national reconciliation" plan and called off talks with the red-shirted protesters after they raised new demands.

The 22-member red shirt leadership council has struggled to find common ground on how to end the protests and appeared in disarray tonight.

Its chairman and several others have not been seen in days. Former Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, chairman of the protesters' parliamentary wing, the Puea Thai Party, called on the demonstrators to leave the upscale shopping district.

Some hardliners like Khattiya have advocated stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.

Many face criminal charges for defying an emergency decree and some, like Khattiya, face terrorism charges carrying a maximum penalty of death.

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