Bangkok airport shut down as protesters rampage

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS to and from Thailand's main airport were halted last night after rampaging anti-government protesters surged…

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS to and from Thailand's main airport were halted last night after rampaging anti-government protesters surged through police cordons and stormed the terminal.

The airport's authority said it had no choice but to close Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport as protesters carrying iron bars smashed doors and roamed the concourses. The demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which is dedicated to bringing down the prime minister, caused mayhem across Bangkok as they fired on government supporters and left 11 injured, one critically.

But the closure of the international hub, which hosts 14.5 million tourists each year, is one of the most disruptive actions the group has staged in six months of protests that have unseated one prime minister and two ministers.

Last night leaders of PAD vowed to keep the airport closed until the Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is due to arrive home from an official trip today, resigns.

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The airport diverted incoming flights to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Singapore after the departure area had to be closed because hordes of protesters pushed through lines of riot police, who were under orders not to use violence. Some protesters attacked taxi drivers.

The protesters, waving Thai flags and portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, had earlier blocked the motorway to the airport. Many passengers had to drag heavy suitcases miles to the terminal in the hope of catching their flights.

The airport siege capped a dramatic second day of protest - billed as a "final showdown" - that saw violent clashes and several other mass protests designed to disrupt the government.

Tens of thousands of PAD supporters picketed Bangkok's old Don Muang airport, which has become the temporary seat of power since the anti-government demonstrators occupied the prime minister's office last August. The protesters surrounded the airport's VIP building to prevent a cabinet meeting yesterday.

Some of the PAD supporters made their way to Bangkok's army headquarters, where they believed the cabinet meeting would be held. Others, riding in a lorry, were ambushed on a highway by government supporters who threw stones and poles. The PAD fought back and at least two men were seen firing revolvers. Hospital officials said 11 pro-government supporters were injured, eight with gunshot wounds.

The PAD's desperate tactics are aimed at provoking the army to mount another coup - following that which deposed Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006 - as a way to unseat the government. But the PAD's extreme actions are alarming its broader base and polls show support for it is dwindling.