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Blast at Bangkok protest rally site leaves 13 market vendors injured
A blast wounded 13 people in the Thailand capital early yesterday when assailants hurled an explosive device at market vendors who had gathered to protest a rent hike by new managers of the government-owned facility, police said.
- AP
- Published: 23:54 November 13, 2008
- People tend to an injured after a bomb blast in Bangkok during a protest rally by Thai market vendors on Thursday.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Bangkok: A blast wounded 13 people in the Thailand capital early yesterday when assailants hurled an explosive device at market vendors who had gathered to protest a rent hike by new managers of the government-owned facility, police said.
The blast occurred here around 1am (4am UAE time) when some protesters were sleeping in makeshift tents and others had gathered outside, police Col Sutip Palitkusontap said.
Two of the protesters remained hospitalised with serious injuries, but the rest have been released, said Surachet Sathitniramai at the Narenthorn Medical Centre.
Palitkusontap said hundreds of vendors who operate stalls at the outdoor market in Bangkok have been staging a protest since Wednesday against Legal Professional Co. Ltd., the facility's new privately contracted management company.
The company denied involvement in the attack.
Two men were seen dropping a plastic bag from an overpass bridge onto the protest site at a major intersection in the Klong Toey district before the blast occurred, Palitkusontap said, citing witnesses.
"It remains unclear what kind of explosive device it was and who was behind the attack," he said.
The market's land is owned by the Port Authority of Thailand, which recently hired new management for the market. The protesters allege the bidding process for the hiring was not transparent and that they have been treated unfairly by the new management, which has sharply raised rents without improving conditions. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack and no indication that the blast was related to Thailand's ongoing political strife.
Protesters have been camping out for months at the Thai prime minister's office in hopes of forcing the government to resign.
One protester at the market said mobs have been harassing them since July to agree to the higher rents or leave.
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