BANGKOK, November 24 (RIA Novosti) – Eleven people were wounded on Saturday in clashes between demonstrators and police in Bangkok, according to Thai media reports.
Five of the injured are police officers, while six are civilians, the Bangkok Post reported, citing a statement from the local Erawan Emergency Center.
Anti-government protesters gathered in the Thai capital early Saturday to call for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's ouster. Police responded with tear gas, and more than 100 were arrested.
Opposition leader and retired General Boonlert Kaewprasit, who leads the royalist Pitak Siam group, accused the authorities on Saturday of brutality against the peaceful protesters.
"If the police continue their actions, I will have to ask the military for help," he told reporters on Saturday.
Bangkok has been home in recent years to episodes of violent, politically motivated unrest.
The tension stems from a longstanding conflict between the supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's older brother who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.
Yingluck became Thailand’s first female prime minister following national elections in 2011.
