A dissident Thai General has been shot and seriously wounded, along with several other people at the site of an anti-government protest in Bangkok. VOA's Daniel Schearf witnessed the shooting which followed a government threat to seal off the protest area to force weeks-long demonstration to end.

Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol was shot in the head while talking to a New York Times newspaper reporter and just as Schearf approached him to ask a question. Seconds later, protest security guards yelled at journalists and on-lookers to stay back as they tried to help the general - also known as Seh Daeng - into a van and to the hospital. After he was driven away, explosions rang out and the protesters, called the Red Shirts, scattered.

One protester, who was trying to get people to leave the area, says soldiers fired a grenade and used live ammunition. The protester said, "A soldier, Thai soldier, he shoot M16 and M79 to Thai people, Red Shirts." But his claims could not be verified in the ensuring chaos.

Thai authorities have accused protesters of hiding guns and grenades. Adding to the confusion immediately following the shooting, demonstrators began lighting fireworks. Some protesters used bamboo poles to break billboard street lights, apparently concerned that snipers would see them.

Earlier in the day, authorities had said they would isolate the protest area using armored vehicles and cut phone connections, water and electricity to pressure the protest to end. A spokesman said the army would also deploy snipers to look for what he called armed "terrorists."

General Seh Daeng was one of the more militant supporters of the anti-government protest. Some accused him of trying to form a paramilitary force among the protesters. Because of his support of the protest, he was suspended from the army and had a warrant out for his arrest.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for many of the protest leaders who have been labeled "terrorists," after April clashes with security forces that killed more than 20 people.

The protesters have been occupying a central commercial area of Bangkok for two months, demanding that the government, which they say is illegitimate, step down and allow elections.

The government withdrew an offer for early elections in November after protest leaders demanded that officials also face charges for the deaths of protesters.

Officials say the boy underwent surgery for fractures on both legs after being pulled from the debris of the Afriqiyah Airways plane. He is the only survivor.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry has not confirmed his identity. However, a Netherlands newspaper, the Brabants Dagblad says he may be a nine-year-old from the southern city of Tilburg who was in South Africa on a safari with his parents and brothers.

More than half of the passengers, 62, were vacationers from the Netherlands who were traveling home from South Africa. Travelers from nearly 10 other countries were on the Johannesburg-to-Tripoli flight. Most had plans to travel on to Europe.

The A-330 Airbus crashed on Wednesday as it was approaching Tripoli airport. The plane was carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew.

Libyan officials are investigating the cause of the crash but they have ruled out terrorism.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Rescue teams search the site of the Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane crash in Tripoli, Libya, 12 May 2010

A Libyan airliner with 104 people on board has crashed during landing at Tripoli's airport. At least 103 people have been confirmed killed, with a young Dutch boy the only known survivor. More than half the passengers are believed to have been from the Netherlands.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane was arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa, and is believed to have crashed just short of the runway.

The Libyan-owned airline says 93 passengers and 11 crewmembers were on board flight 771 as it attempted to land.

A Libyan official says a young Dutch boy who was the lone survivor did not have life threatening injuries.

Libyan media showed wreckage of the plane spread over a wide field, with rescue and emergency workers on the scene.

Officials say they have already recovered the flight's voice recorder, which may give information on the cause of the crash. Weather is not believed to be a factor. Witnesses say they did not see any fire before the plane broke apart. Authorities announced an investigation is under way, but initially ruled out a terrorist attack.

In Johannesburg, a spokeswoman for the Airports Company South Africa, Unathi Batyashe-Fillis, said the company had no confirmation on what caused the crash.

"What we do know is that the airline left last night at 2137 [1937 GMT] for Tripoli. It was scheduled to arrive in Tripoli at 6 o'clock [0400 GMT]," she said. "We don't know where the communication failure happened, but what we can confirm is that 104 passengers and crew were on board at the time."

Afriqiyah said its crewmembers were Libyan. Officials in South Africa reported most aboard the flight had planned to make a connection in Tripoli and fly on to various destinations in Europe. Crisis centers have been set up in both Johannesburg and Tripoli.

The airline maintains an Airbus fleet and had previously maintained a good safety record.