11 Oct 2010

Red Shirts gather to remember bloody clashes

8:27 pm on 11 October 2010

About 6,000 Red Shirt anti-government protesters have rallied in the Thai capital Bangkok to mark six months since bloody clashes with the army that left 25 people dead.

The protests began with a Buddhist ceremony near Bangkok's Lumpini Park before leaving to join fellow demonstrators near Democracy Monument, the main site of violence on 10 April.

Police say the 6,000-strong rally was watched by more than 1,000 officers, who were on hand to ensure security in the city, which has been rattled by a series of explosions since the protests ended.

The Red Shirts are mostly supporters of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a coup in 2006.