Police clash with red-shirt protesters

Chiang Mai police dispersed the red shirts on Thursday's night following a five-hour confrontation at Phuphing police station in Mueang district.
There was no official report on casualties although one woman was seen to have sustained minor injuries after a ping-pong bomb exploded during the commotion on Huay Kaew Road.
Provincial Police Region Five chief Lt General Somkid Boonthanom said he was responsible for ordering the crackdown on the red shirts who he claimed had turned unruly.
Somkid said police followed prescribed steps on crowd control, including the five-minute warning to disperse. The anti-riot forces were equipped with shields and batons. Water canan was deployed.
The tension started in the evening when the red shirts tried to hold a rally at Chiang Mai Airport to protest against Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij and Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai.
Korn and Porntiva arrived at the northern city for an inspection trip.
One of the rally organisers, Niyom Luangcharoen, was detained by police after the discovery that he was carrying a pistol without a license.
Niyom was brought for questioning at the police station and hundreds of the red shirts rallied to demand his release. They also blocked traffic on Huay Kaew, a main thoroughfare.
Although a majority of protesters voluntary dispersed after hearing that police agreed to grant bail to Niyom, about a hundred red shirts carried on protesting.