Thai troops open fire on Red Shirts to block convoy

A soldier was shot in the head today in Thailand as Britons were warned to avoid the country.

The soldier was feared dead as forces clashed with hundreds of anti-government protesters in the suburbs of the capital Bangkok.

The Foreign Office changed its advice to advise Britons to avoid "all but essential" travel to the entire country, having limited a previous warning to Bangkok. It said "extreme caution" should be exercised.

A spokesman said: "We recommend that British nationals in Thailand or planning to travel to the country check the travel advice on the Embassy website regularly for details of further developments."

Red-shirted supporters of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have been camped in the city for seven weeks.

At least 26 have been killed and around 1,000 injured in numerous violent outbreaks, including a grenade attack on the business district last week. Bangkok's international airport, Suvarnabhumi, the gateway to the Thai islands frequented by thousands of tourists, is about 20 miles from the city centre and is said by British officials to be "safe".

Today troops fired live rounds into the air and shot rubber bullets in a chaotic clash with the "red shirts", wounding 10 people.

The soldiers had been trying to halt a convoy of 2,000 red shirts as they tried to reach a different part of the city, away from their camp in the centre.

"We are going to send (protesters) out of the rally site," said a Red Shirt leader, Nattawut Saikua. "If the military thinks it is necessary to use force to block us, it's all right. We are not afraid."

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that troops were told to use rubber bullets but had authority to use live ammunition for self-defence. "We brought force out to stop them. At this point, society finds it unacceptable to have protesters travelling in a motorcade like this," he said. "We try our best to prevent losses."

About 100 protesters had moved ahead of the main convoy, charging the troops and riot police, who used batons and shields to push them back. Some protesters fought back by hurling stones and ball bearings from sling-shots.

Hopes for a negotiated end to the crisis were dashed at the weekend when prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected a proposal by the protesters to hold an election in three months.

The red shirts, who believe that Mr Abhisit came to power illegally, yesterday erected a barrier of tyres and gas canisters at a Skytrain station to guard against a military assault.

The government has accused the protesters of trying to undermine the nation's revered king. Such a charge, which protest leaders deny, could weaken their support. Anyone who "defames, insults, or threatens" the royal family can be jailed for 15 years.

Several thousand Britons are already on holiday in Thailand and have been warned to stay indoors. About 2,500 were stranded in Suvarnabhumi airport by the Icelandic volcano ash cloud but there are "no longer significant numbers" waiting to get back to the UK.

The Foreign Office said: "British nationals should continue to exercise extreme caution throughout the country and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.

"This advice reflects the increasing tension in Thailand and our concern that violent incidents of an unpredictable nature are occurring in many parts of Thailand.

"The situation is volatile and we recommend that British nationals in Thailand or planning to travel to the country check the travel advice on the embassy website regularly for details of further developments."

Abta, the holiday operators' body, said people who travel to Thailand "should realise that should they decide to go, get caught up in an incident and get injured and have travelled knowing the Foreign Office advice, they will not be covered by insurance."

Thomas Cook said today that holidaymakers due to travel to Thailand up to and including Friday would be given the option to amend or cancel their holiday with a full refund.