Guard wounded, protesters threaten to close provincial govt offices

BANGKOK, Jan 19 (TNA) - One security guard has been shot and wounded while anti-government protesters have threatened to close every provincial government office on Monday following several recent bloody violence against the protesters. The victim identified as 54-year-old Somsak Parn-noppa was shot in his right shoulder late Saturday and was sent to a hospital for treatment. He was shot while providing security to anti-government protesters at Lat Phrao intersection, one of a major rally sites. Eyewitnesses told police that they saw the unidentified gunman wearing a black helmet and jumped on a motorcycle pillion after firing at the guard. Another motorcycle was seen following the first one to provide security. The incident took place after Friday’s daylight bombing attack on anti-government protesters which left one person killed and 37 others wounded in central Bangkok while protesters were marching on a street in a bid to invite more people to join them to oust the caretaker government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Meanwhile, Suthep Thaugsuban, secretary-general of People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), early Sunday led protesters marching from Lat Phrao intersection where the shooting took place heading toward Ratchadapisek Road in an attempt to invite more people to join the protest. Mr. Suthep said that PDRC protesters would march everyday from now on in the capital. He has also asked PDRC members in provinces, especially in the South, to escalate the protest by closing government offices on Monday. (TNA)