As Thai soldiers cleared the remaining anti-government protesters from their encampment in the heart of Bangkok's commercial centre, IRIN reviews the latest round of instability to grip this Southeast Asian nation.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, was ousted in a coup triggered by long-running street protests in 2006.
March 12: Thousands of anti-government protesters - known as "Red Shirts" because of their clothing - gather in Bangkok in a bid to drive out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power in December 2008 following a special parliamentary vote. The demonstrators view his government as illegitimate and undemocratic, representative only of the country's ruling elite, while at the same time insensitive to the poor, particularly in the north;
March 16-17: Red Shirts pour containers of their own blood under the gates of Government House and the prime minister's residence;
March 28: Televised negotiations between Abhisit and Red Shirt leaders fail to reach an agreement;
April 7: Government declares a state of emergency in Bangkok area. The decree bans the gathering of more than five persons or more at any location;
April 10: Military, police move to oust protesters from their camp in historic area of Bangkok. Clashes between troops and Red Shirts result in 25 deaths and more than 800 injuries. A Japanese journalist working for Thomson Reuters is killed;
April 15-18: Red Shirts consolidate protests in Bangkok's upmarket commercial district. Thousands take up residence in the heart of the city, constructing crude barricades of tyres and bamboo around their encampments;
April 22: Grenade attacks against an anti-Red Shirt gathering kill one person and wound 75.
Red shirts submit a letter asking the UN to dispatch international peacekeepers to protect them;
April 28: Troops clash with Red Shirts on a highway, blocking their effort to take the demonstrations into the suburbs. One soldier is killed;
April 30: International Crisis Group warns that the "Thai political system has broken down and seems incapable of pulling the country back from the brink of widespread conflict";
May 3: Abhisit offers to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections in November if Red Shirts end occupation of the city centre;
May 7-8: Overnight shooting attack and explosions outside protest zone kills two police officers;
May 10: Red Shirts say they accept Abhisit's election proposal but will not end their protest unless a top government official faces criminal charges;
May 12: The government withdraws election offer and steps up its efforts to disperse the protesters, including cutting off supplies of water, food and electricity to the protest zone;
May 13: Major General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, a renegade army officer and Red Shirt military strategist, is shot in the head while talking to journalists, triggering more clashes in Bangkok that kill one person;
May 14: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls on both sides to avert bloodshed and resume talks. Troops and Red Shirts continue to clash; at least seven are killed;
May 15: In a televised address, Abhisit says extremist protesters are trying to foment civil war; standoff continues, with at least 16 more killed;
May 16: Intense gun battle breaks out in Bangkok's Lumpini Park, where protesters have amassed by the thousands. Hospital officials say one soldier is among the 11 killed;
May 17: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay calls on the Thai government and protesters to "step back from brink". Hospital officials announce that Khattiya has died; government orders protesters to leave the demonstration area by 3pm (9am GMT), warning that those who do not will face a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment for violating the order;
May 18: The conflict has transformed the centre of Bangkok - a 3 sqkm area - into a war zone, with certain streets now marked as free-fire zones. Amnesty International calls on the Thai military to halt the reckless use of lethal force. Hope for further negotiations fail;
May 19: Armoured vehicles and soldiers converge on the protest encampment in what one Thai senator said would be a "decisive" crackdown. At least 5,000 protesters reportedly remain in the area. By midafternoon, reports began circulating that the Red Shirt leaders had surrendered.
Since mid-March, more than 65 people have been killed and more than 1,000 people have been injured, the Ministry of Health reported.
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Thailand has been in political turmoil since Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, was ousted in a coup triggered by long-running street protests in 2006.
March 12: Thousands of anti-government protesters - known as "Red Shirts" because of their clothing - gather in Bangkok in a bid to drive out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power in December 2008 following a special parliamentary vote. The demonstrators view his government as illegitimate and undemocratic, representative only of the country's ruling elite, while at the same time insensitive to the poor, particularly in the north;
March 16-17: Red Shirts pour containers of their own blood under the gates of Government House and the prime minister's residence;
March 28: Televised negotiations between Abhisit and Red Shirt leaders fail to reach an agreement;
April 7: Government declares a state of emergency in Bangkok area. The decree bans the gathering of more than five persons or more at any location;
April 10: Military, police move to oust protesters from their camp in historic area of Bangkok. Clashes between troops and Red Shirts result in 25 deaths and more than 800 injuries. A Japanese journalist working for Thomson Reuters is killed;
April 15-18: Red Shirts consolidate protests in Bangkok's upmarket commercial district. Thousands take up residence in the heart of the city, constructing crude barricades of tyres and bamboo around their encampments;
April 22: Grenade attacks against an anti-Red Shirt gathering kill one person and wound 75.
Red shirts submit a letter asking the UN to dispatch international peacekeepers to protect them;
April 28: Troops clash with Red Shirts on a highway, blocking their effort to take the demonstrations into the suburbs. One soldier is killed;
April 30: International Crisis Group warns that the "Thai political system has broken down and seems incapable of pulling the country back from the brink of widespread conflict";
May 3: Abhisit offers to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections in November if Red Shirts end occupation of the city centre;
May 7-8: Overnight shooting attack and explosions outside protest zone kills two police officers;
May 10: Red Shirts say they accept Abhisit's election proposal but will not end their protest unless a top government official faces criminal charges;
May 12: The government withdraws election offer and steps up its efforts to disperse the protesters, including cutting off supplies of water, food and electricity to the protest zone;
May 13: Major General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, a renegade army officer and Red Shirt military strategist, is shot in the head while talking to journalists, triggering more clashes in Bangkok that kill one person;
May 14: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls on both sides to avert bloodshed and resume talks. Troops and Red Shirts continue to clash; at least seven are killed;
May 15: In a televised address, Abhisit says extremist protesters are trying to foment civil war; standoff continues, with at least 16 more killed;
May 16: Intense gun battle breaks out in Bangkok's Lumpini Park, where protesters have amassed by the thousands. Hospital officials say one soldier is among the 11 killed;
May 17: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay calls on the Thai government and protesters to "step back from brink". Hospital officials announce that Khattiya has died; government orders protesters to leave the demonstration area by 3pm (9am GMT), warning that those who do not will face a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment for violating the order;
May 18: The conflict has transformed the centre of Bangkok - a 3 sqkm area - into a war zone, with certain streets now marked as free-fire zones. Amnesty International calls on the Thai military to halt the reckless use of lethal force. Hope for further negotiations fail;
May 19: Armoured vehicles and soldiers converge on the protest encampment in what one Thai senator said would be a "decisive" crackdown. At least 5,000 protesters reportedly remain in the area. By midafternoon, reports began circulating that the Red Shirt leaders had surrendered.
Since mid-March, more than 65 people have been killed and more than 1,000 people have been injured, the Ministry of Health reported.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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