November 30, 2008	Sunday	Zilhaj 1, 1429

BANGKOK, Nov 29: Riot police fled a checkpoint near Bangkok’s international airport on Saturday after coming under attack by several hundred anti-government protesters who have been occupying the main terminal.

About 150 police personnel at the checkpoint jumped into their vehicles and sped off when they saw a convoy of protesters — many armed with metal rods and some carrying guns — speeding toward them.

Video footage of the attack appeared to show a protester firing a handgun toward a police van filled with officers. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries.

The attack effectively broke a massive police cordon that officials had formed earlier in the day around the protesters occupying Thailand’s main airport, raising fears of an imminent confrontation in a standoff that has disrupted the country’s economy and the travel industry worldwide.

About 2,000 police personnel were deployed around Suvarnabhumi international airport, where protesters calling themselves the People’s Alliance for Democracy have camped out since late Tuesday, forcing the halt of all flights.

The checkpoint was about 2km from the airport.

About 400 protesters in a long convoy sped toward the police, hitting their vehicles and smashing windshields as they drove off and throwing what appeared to be firecrackers at the police.

After the police fled, the protesters picked up some of the riot shields they left behind and occupied the checkpoint, where police had been stopping vehicles headed into the airport to search for weapons. The protesters also have occupied Bangkok’s domestic airport and the prime minister’s office compound, virtually paralysing the government in their campaign to force its resignation.

The confrontation, severing the capital from civilian air traffic, has taken a heavy toll on Thailand’s economy and reputation. According to Thai media reports, some 100,000 tourists are stranded, and schedules of airlines around the world have been disrupted.—AP