Uncovering Bangkok: Protests turn deadly on Black Saturday

Earlier in the day yesterday, I posted about CNNGo's "Uncovering Bangkok" series and the list of "five movies that offer eye-opening views of Bangkok".

I took the post down. After what happened later in the day.

Shit hit the fan.

Making a push to end the month-long anti-government protests, soldiers and police clashed with the red-shirt political protesters in various locations around Bangkok, including the area near the foreign-backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road as well as Makkhawan Bridge.

As many as 21 people are reported to have been killed and 858 wounded. Among the dead are at four soldiers and Reuters journalist Hiro Muramoto.

Though rubber bullets can be lethal, there was bigger firepower at play on both sides, obviously.

The red shirts are holding firm at the Rajprasong shopping-district intersection and at their initial rally site of Phan Fah Bridge.

The BTS skytrain suspended its services.

While Thailand's broadcast television offered little to nothing of coverage, continuing to show the same variety shows and soap operas, the main source of news during the day was Twitter.

Follow Nation editor @tulsathit and his colleague @veen_NT. There's blogger @bangkokpundit of course, as well as freelance journos @journotopia and @newley.Also,@kinovino, @legalnomads, @karmanomad, @babyfishie, BKKApologist and @RichardBarrow.

Reuters has a story. And The Nation has a timeline of the events.

Boston.com's The Big Picture covers the clash on Friday as the red shirts tried to keep their People's Television satellite broadcasts from being interrupted at the ThaiCom station.

(Top photo from Rajprasong intersection by Richard Barrow, bottom photo from NationPhoto at Facebook)