Bangkok riot policeman is a split second too late as he tries to KICK a grenade away and has his foot blown off
- Gruesome scenes captured by an onlooker as protests turn to violence
- Police seen sheltering behind wall of shields as missiles hurled from crowd
- The officer can be seen breaking through from the barrier to kick grenade
- But the missile explodes, and appears to take off his foot as smoke fills air
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The police can be seen sheltering behind a wall of shields as missiles are hurled from the crowd, in the latest round of Thailand's protests calling for the government to step down amid accusations of rampant corruption.
The gruesome scenes were captured by an onlooker as the protests turn to riots, the most recent of which has left four people dead and dozens injured as Thai police began clearing protest sites in the capital.
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Footage taken on the streets of Bangkok shows a
riot policeman attempting to kick a hand grenade away from fellow
officers - only for it to explode and appear to blow his foot off
Several were reported injured by the attack, apparently by protesters, who police say were also targeting them by sniper, globalpost.com reports.
The officer appears to spot the grenade from behind the wall of shields, and moves forward to punt it away.
But it seems he is a second too late, as the device detonates by his foot, with seemingly devastating results.
Anti-government protests have been ongoing in Thailand since November.
Officials have confirmed that one of the dead is a police officer - one of about 15,000 involved.
Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters surrounded the prime minister's temporary office in Bangkok's northern outskirts to demand her resignation today.
The riot police can be seen sheltering behind a
wall of shields as missiles are hurled from the crowd in the latest
round of Thailand's protests
As the violence escalates, missiles are hurled
by the crowd. Some sources have also suggested snipers were also taking
aim at officers
One officer breaks free from his fellow police to kick away a missile that has apparently been thrown from the crowd
But the missile explodes before him as his foot makes contact, as other officers can only look on
The demonstrators asked officials at the Defense Ministry complex to prevent Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from using it as her backup office.
She has been unable to enter her regular office compound in downtown Bangkok because it has been blocked by protesters and some of its gates have been cemented shut.
The demonstrators also vowed to target businesses owned by Yingluck's wealthy family.
Protesters have also camped out for a month at major intersections across the capital to press for Yingluck's resignation.
The military said the prime minister and Cabinet ministers stayed away from their temporary offices on Wednesday to prevent further tensions.
The gruesome scenes were captured by an onlooker
as the protests turn to violence, the most recent of which has left
four people dead and dozens injured as Thai police began clearing
protest sites in the capital
As he falls back, his boot appears to be thrown into the air by the force of the explosion
The area is quickly covered in thick smoke after
the explosion, which is believed to have injured dozens of officers and
bystanders
Yingluck's elected government has been attempting to avoid violence to keep the powerful military from stepping in. Thailand has been wracked by political unrest since 2006, when Yingluck's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by a military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power.
Police have been ordered to exercise restraint and avoid using force, but deadly gunbattles erupted Tuesday after they moved into several locations around the city to remove protesters.
Erawan emergency medical services said a fifth person died of injuries from Tuesday's fighting.
Nearly 70 others were injured.
Thai police officers aim their weapons towards
anti-government protesters after an explosion during clashes near the
Government House in Bangkok
Thai riot police officers assist a colleague
after an explosion - believed to be that caught on camera - during
clashes with anti-government protesters near the Government House in
Bangkok
Thai riot police officers shield themselves as
they withdraw from the area after clashes with anti-government
protesters at a protest site. One Thai policeman was killed as officers
arrested two protest leaders and other 144 followers
The
demonstrators, who mostly draw their support from the urban middle and
upper class and people in the south, want Yingluck to step down to make
way for an appointed interim government to implement reforms they say
are necessary to fight corruption and remove the Shinawatra family from
politics.
Thailand's Civil
Court is expected to rule Wednesday on the government's invocation of an
emergency decree that allows authorities to exercise wide powers,
including detaining protesters for a longer period without charges,
banning political gatherings and imposing curfews.
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