Hand grenade thrown into Bangkok crowd injures 10

A hand grenade was thrown into a crowd of opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters in Bangkok at approximately 0300 local time 30 October 2008, injuring 10 people. The attack occurred at a protest camp at the Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge, which is located near the U.N. regional headquarters. Eyewitness reports indicated that two people on a motorcycle threw the device into the crowd; however, it has not yet been determined who was responsible. All of those injured were volunteer guards for the protest movement. While the timing and location of the attack limits the possibility of foreign travellers being collaterally affected, it further heightens tensions in Thailand, which has already experienced violence at opposition protests in the recent past. PAD leaders have already blamed the government for the attack. Meanwhile, on 30 October hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered at the British Embassy, demanding that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra be extradited from the United Kingdom. The former prime minister fled to the U.K. after he was ousted from power in September 2006. The PAD led the protest outside the embassy and blocked a main road in Bangkok. The protest, which started at approximately 0930 local time (0230 UTC), was peaceful.