Renegade leader of Thailand's 'Red Shirt' movement severely wounded-shot in head

[babylonsister]

Renegade leader of Thailand's 'Red Shirt' movement severely wounded

By Tim Johnston
Thursday, May 13, 2010; 11:51 AM


BANGKOK -- A renegade Thai army officer who has become a leader of anti-government protests was shot and severely wounded Thursday night during a security operation aimed at cracking down on demonstrators in the heart of the capital.

The apparent attack on Maj. General Khattya Sawasdipol is another bloody punctuation mark in the increasingly confrontational relations between the Thai government and "Red Shirt" protesters who have been demonstrating for the last eight weeks.

Khattya was being treated in the intensive care unit of a Bangkok hospital, the Associated Press reported. Details of his condition were not immediately available.

Khattya, better known by the nom-de-guerre "Seh Daeng," is one of the most controversial figures in the anti-government movement. He is close to Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who is the godfather of the movement, but he was initially rejected by mainstream demonstration leaders because his embrace of the use of force clashed with their desire for peaceful protest.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051300487.html?hpid=topnews