Thai soldiers sprayed automatic weapons fire into the air and threw tear gas to clear demonstrators blocking roads across the capital

Thai soldiers sprayed automatic weapons fire into the air and threw tear gas to clear demonstrators blocking roads across the capital Monday in a major escalation of anti-government protests that have roiled this Southeast Asian nation. Thailand's armed forces chief vowed Monday to restore order in the capital. In a national television address, Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara said his troops would employ "every means to end the chaos." But the army chief also said soldiers would use weapons only for self defense and not "excessively." At least 74 people were reported injured in the clashes, most of them in a pre-dawn confrontation in which the demonstrators hurled at least one gasoline bomb and, according to the military, fired at the troops. The protesters were stationed at half a dozen points in Bangkok, including the prime minister's office where thousands remained encamped, defying a state of emergency that bans gatherings of more than five people. The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, saying his four-month-old government came to power illegally. Protesters commandeered public buses to block several key intersections, set tires on fire and sent two unmanned buses, one of them set on fire, hurtling toward lines of soldiers.
The violence is the latest round in a political tug-of-war between the "red shirts," who support the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the "yellow shirts," who back the current government, reported CBS News correspondent Celia Hatton.
The "reds" are mostly from Thailand's poor majority; the "yellows" come from the country's urban middle classes, added Hatton.
In one of several tense confrontations and cat-and-mouse chases around the city, a line of troops in full battle gear fired volleys of M-16 fire, most of it aimed above the heads of protesters and turned water cannons on the crowd near Victory Monument, a major traffic circle. Protesters at an intersection near the monument set an empty bus on fire and, after weighing down the accelerator with a bag of water bottles, sent it surging toward advancing soldiers.
The bus swerved and then ricocheted off trees on the side of the road before coming to a halt, with no one injured. City officials said the protesters have commandeered about 30 public buses and earlier forced military vehicles to halt, in one case climbing on top of two armored personnel carriers, waving flags and shouting "Democracy." Parliament appointed Abhisit in December after a court ordered the removal of the previous pro-Thaksin government citing fraud in the 2007 elections. Thaksin supporters took to the streets in protest, and their numbers grew to 100,000 in Bangkok last week. A mob of the red-shirted protesters smashed cars carrying Abhisit and his aides on Sunday. The secretary-general of Abhisit's office, Niphon Promphan, was dragged from the car and beaten, suffering head injuries and broken ribs.
Abhisit appealed Monday to the demonstrators to return to their homes, saying the government was using "the softest measures possible" against them. "All the work I am doing is not to create fear or put pressure or to harm any group of people. It's a step by step process to restore order and stop violence," he said on nationwide television. Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the "situation in Thailand is being brought back under control." "In the next few hours, several security measures will be established ... to secure major ports, international airports and infrastructure," he said. In contrast to a complete security breakdown over the weekend, where a 16-nation Asian summit was canceled after demonstrators stormed the venue, security forces began to take action. Now that they have tanks on the streets, it is time for the people to come out in revolution. And when it is necessary, I will come back to the country.Thaksin Shinawatra,Ousted Thai Prime MinisterMonday's first clash began between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., as troops in full combat gear advanced to disperse the protesters, who were occupying a major junction, according to witnesses. The soldiers fired hundreds of rounds from their M-16 automatic rifles, with Associated Press reporters saying most appeared to have been aimed over the heads of the protesters. The reporters saw protesters throw at least one gasoline bomb which exploded behind the army line and tear gas floated across the eerie dawn scene.