Poweful blast kills 2, injures dozens in Thai capital

A powerful explosion has left at least two people dead and two dozen others injured in the Thai capital Bangkok, security sources say.

Thai officials say a woman and a boy died in the blast in one of the busy shopping districts in Bangkok on Sunday.

Medical sources say 24 others, including several children were also wounded in the fatal blast.

“One boy who we understand was 12 years old has died from injuries sustained in the blast. Another child is undergoing an operation and a third child is still in the emergency room with us,” media outlets quoted medical sources as saying.
The blast happened at the same time as an anti-government protest was being held nearby.

The development comes hours after supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to get tough with demonstrators paralyzing parts of the city.

Premier Yingluck, who has not been seen in public for days, branded the ongoing violence terrorism.

“I strongly condemn the use of violence in recent days … since the lives of children were lost,” she said in a statement, adding “The violent incidents are terrorist acts for political gains without regard for human life.”

Thailand has been rocked by demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Yingluk Shinawatra since November 2013. The demonstrators want Yingluck to quit, so that an unelected “people’s council” could enact reforms.

Opponents see her as a proxy for her elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister toppled in a military coup in 2006.