Timeline of events in Thailand's political crisis

[CrazyExpat]

Timeline of major flashpoints in Thailand's deepening political crisis, in which 30 people have died and hundreds have been injured.

March 12: "Red Shirt" protesters, calling themselves "have-nots" and "commoners," gather in Bangkok in bid to drive out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who they claim represents the elite of Thai society and is insensitive to the poor majority. Many are supporters of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup amid corruption allegations.

March 16-17: Red Shirt protesters hurl containers filled with their own blood into the government and residential compound of the prime minister.

March 28: Abhisit meets Red Shirt leaders in televised negotiations but both sides walk away without reaching an agreement.

April 7: Government declares state of emergency in Bangkok area.

April 10: Military, police move to oust protesters from their camp in a historic area of Bangkok. Clashes between troops and Red Shirts result in 25 deaths and more than 800 injuries.

April 15-18: Red Shirts consolidate protests in Bangkok's upscale central shopping and tourism district, construct a barricade around their encampments.

April 22: Grenade attacks against an anti-Red Shirt gathering kill one person and wound 75.

April 28: Troops clash with Red Shirts on an expressway, blocking their effort to take the demonstrations into the suburbs. One soldier dies as a multi-lane highway is transformed into a battle zone.

May 3: Abhisit offers fresh elections in November if Red Shirts end occupation of commercial center.

May 7-8: Overnight shooting attack and explosions outside protest zone kill two police officers.

May 10: Red Shirts say they accept Abhisit's election proposal but will not end their protest unless a top government official faces criminal charges.

May 12: The government withdraws election offer and turns to siege tactics after protesters refuse to disperse, announcing that the army would cut off supplies of water, food and electricity to the protest zone.

May 13: Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol, a renegade army officer who aided the Red Shirts, is shot in the head while talking to reporters in downtown Bangkok, triggering more clashes in Bangkok that killed one person.

The Associated Press: Timeline of events in Thailand's political crisis