Bangkok grenade attack kills two at Sunday rally

Originally published on February 24, 2014

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A grenade attack killed two in Thailand's capital Sunday. The Bangkok Post reports that the explosion happened at around 5 p.m. Sunday at an anti-government rally near the "Big C Supercentre" on Ratchadamri Road on Sunday afternoon, which has served as a rally site for the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee.

Bangkok police say the blast was caused by a 40mm grenade fired from an M79 launcher. M79 grenade launchers are small, portable, single-shot, shoulder-fired weapons capable of firing various types of 40mm grenades.

A nurse at Ramathibodi Hospital in central Bangkok, who declined to be identified, told Reuters, "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."

Reuters also reports that the embattled Thai Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, said in a statement on Facebook that the violence equated to terrorism.

"I strongly condemn the use of violence in recent days," said the prime minister. "The violent incidents are terrorist acts for political gains without regard for human life," she continued.

The Bangkok Post also reported that the grenade attack came just over four hours after an M79 grenade was found in a car park on Ratchadapisek Road near the Civil and Appeals courts at noon on Sunday.

Thailand has continued to see mass protests by groups that accuse the government of using corrupt schemes to win elections and the opposition has boycotted recent elections and called on the prime minister to resign.

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