Street fighting continues in the Thai capital, Bangkok, as anti-government protesters try to push back soldiers who have surrounded their camp. At least 22 people were killed in the last two days and at least 170 wounded.
Gunfire and explosions continued Saturday as protesters for a third day clashed with security forces surrounding their camp.

Saturday afternoon, just north of the protest area, the Thai army spread razor wire and set up checkpoints. They put up signs that read "live fire zone" and urged people not to enter.

The anti-government red shirts set up their own barricades of rubber tires and slowly drove a yellow tanker truck toward the soldiers, until shots were fired. Demonstrators hit the ground and scattered into alleyways.

A few protesters could be seen limping away bleeding, apparently shot, but still defiant. They received medical care from nurses standing by to aid casualties.
Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd spoke on national television and said the government regrets the deaths and injuries. He says the army has been trying very hard to use measures to end the protest while avoiding any losses.

Authorities blame the clashes on violent elements among the protesters that they say have fired grenades and guns at soldiers who were forced to return fire. Protesters, however, say soldiers and snipers are aiming to kill them.

The latest violence broke out Thursday after a Thai general supporting the protesters was shot, apparently by a sniper. The protesters have occupied a central commercial district for more than two months, demanding the government step down and allow new elections.

A deal for November elections broke down after protest leaders demanded government leaders face charges for the violent clashes. The government says it expects to restore order within a matter of days.

Saturday evening, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva went on national television and said the security operations are the only way to restore normalcy in the capital. He asked the public to cooperate with security forces.

But Bangkok is looking and sounding increasingly like a war zone. Well into Saturday night, explosions and gunfire could be heard in the city center.

And normally bustling streets near the protest area are empty with shops closed and few people daring to walk on the streets. Most mass transit has been shut down and many highways are closed by the fighting.

Anti-government protesters are blocking roads in Thailand's provinces, raising fears the political crisis may spread beyond the capital, Bangkok. Adding to the tensions, a counter group is pushing the government to declare state of emergency in some provinces and for the military to end the protests.

The People's Alliance for Democracy wants the Thai government to declare a state of emergency in provinces dominated by the anti-government protesters known as red shirts.

On Monday, the PAD also called for the military to declare martial law in Bangkok to end seven weeks of protests led by the United Democratic Front Against Dictatorship.

Sunday, red-shirt protesters in northern provinces began blocking convoys of security forces being sent to Bangkok.

The PAD stance raises pressure in the country. The group led campaigns to oust former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed in a coup in 2006, and later helped force out two pro-Thaksin governments in 2008.

The red shirts largely support Mr. Thaksin.

Sean Boonpracong, a red shirt spokesman, says provincial supporters took the initiative to prevent the police from coming to Bangkok.

"It was not a deliberate strategy. There are lot reds outside Bangkok who take their initiative. And I think that, God willing, the police have cooperated with them," he said. "There are many police units sent. But the police are in two minds. Some are even arriving late."

The red shirts demand new elections within three months. The UDD claims the government is illegitimate because it was selected by parliament, not voters.

The red shirts, mostly from rural areas and the urban poor, are loyal to former prime minister Thaksin because of his policies to reduce poverty. But Thailand's urban middle and upper classes say he was corrupt and abused his power.

An economist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, Somphob Manarangsan, says the red shirts' civil disobedience indicates the protests are escalating.

"The conflict is going to be expanding to not only in Bangkok - even in Bangkok it is expanding - there are more demonstrations from various groups, and at the same time it is also expanding to the provincial areas; particularly in the north and northeast; that means that the