Bangkok burns after protest leaders arrested

(Reuters)

BANGKOK (AP) – Downtown Bangkok became a raging battleground Wednesday as the army stormed a barricaded protest camp and the Red Shirt leadership surrendered, enraging demonstrators who fired grenades and set fires that cloaked the skyline in a black haze.

Slideshow: Thailand

• Video: Thai troops open fire at encampment
• Video: Thai protesters refuse to move

Rioters set fires at the Thai stock exchange, several banks, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, the high-end Central World shopping mall and a cinema complex that collapsed.

The Thai government declared a curfew in Bangkok from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. An announcement signed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and broadcast on television banned anyone from leaving home during those times without permission from authorities. More>>

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