Thai troops battled anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Friday, attempting to seal off their encampment after an assassination attempt on a renegade general unleashed a fresh wave of violence.
Troops had yet to completely block roads leading to the area of luxury hotels and ritzy department stores occupied by protesters for nearly six weeks, raising questions over whether the government could soon end the protests.
The crisis, in which 30 people have been killed and more than 1,400 wounded since April, has paralyzed parts of Bangkok, devastated the vital tourism industry and scared away investors.
Here are some questions and answers on the crisis.
WILL THE MILITARY TRY TO DISPERSE THE RED SHIRTS?
The army said on Friday it has no intention of trying to enter the "red shirt" protest encampment, which sprawls over 3 kms (2 miles) of road in central Bangkok to disperse them.
The army spokesman said anyone who wanted to leave can leave safely. The army will focus on sealing off roads in an area of Bangkok that is at least 10 square kilometers, Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. The military has repeatedly expressed reluctance to enter the protest area. It cannot be ruled out, however, and as time goes on will become increasingly likely.
WHY IS THE MILITARY SKIRMISHING WITH PROTESTERS?
Hundreds of red shirt protesters are trying to keep the army from setting up the security cordon around the sprawling encampment they have occupied for almost six weeks. They have tried to set up at least one checkpoint outside the encampment, fortified with walls of kerosene-soaked tires, bamboo rods and concrete, which troops on Friday said they would not tolerate. Troops are also trying to push protesters, armed with rocks, slingshots and homemade rockets, back into the encampment. Some may also have guns, the military says.
HOW DOES SHOOTING OF ROGUE GENERAL AFFECT PROTESTS?
The latest bout of violence erupted after Gen. Khattiya Sawatdiphol, a suspended army military strategy specialist better known as "Seh Daeng" (Commander Red), was shot in the head, apparently by a sniper, while talking to reporters on Thursday evening.
He underwent brain surgery and was in critical condition.
Khattiya had been branded a terrorist by the Thai government, which accused him of involvement in dozens of grenade attacks that have wounded more than 100 people.
But in recent days he was equally critical of other red shirt leaders, accusing them of embracing Abhisit's proposed "national reconciliation" which unraveled after protesters refused to leave the streets.
Speculation was rife as to who might have tried to assassinate him, with fingers pointing at the military, shadowy militants who have appeared in previous incidents of violence, and the ranks of red shirts themselves.
"It's a clear attempt to decapitate the red shirt military leadership," said Anthony Davies, a security consultant with IHS-Jane's.
"It's a smart tactical move that will cause confusion in the red shirts' military ranks and send a message to the leadership that if they don't want to negotiate and come out, they can expect extreme consequences."
The head of a political party allied to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the iconic figure of the protest movement, called for the red shirts to abandon the protest encampment after the shooting. The 22-member red shirt leadership council has struggled to find common ground on how to end the protests and appeared in disarray on Friday. Its chairman and several others have not been seen in days.
WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS OF A POLITICAL DEAL NOW?
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva withdrew his offer of a November 14 election and says he will offer no more olive branches to the red-shirted demonstrators after their refusal to budge from their protest site in an upmarket shopping and hotel district.
The red shirts had agreed to Abhisit's five-point reconciliation plan and the November 14th poll date, but then insisted the premier and his deputy, Suthep Thaugsuban, be prosecuted for ordering troops to break up a rally at their previous protest site at the Phan Fah bridge on April 10, a botched effort that left 25 dead and more than 800 wounded.
Abhisit said the deal was non-negotiable and ordered the red shirts to leave. They have refused and his government says it will scrap the polls -- which were due to take place more than a year early -- but proceed with the reconciliation plan without the red shirts on board.
WHAT OPTIONS DOES ABHIST HAVE LEFT?
The latest turn of events indicates Abhisit and his army-backed government will try to settle the immediate crisis, by laying siege to the protesters.
That could take days -- or months, depending on the protesters' ability to sustain themselves behind their fortifications.
The military has repeatedly said it is unwilling to undertake an operation to break up the protest site, which has been occupied by 10,000 to 20,000 people at various times. A crackdown at the well-guarded site could turn out to be another bloodbath, with heavy casualties on both sides. It would no doubt be a chaotic battle security forces have no guarantee of winning
HOW WILL THE CRISIS IMPACT MARKETS AND THE ECONOMY?
The crisis has scared off investors, decimated the tourism industry and begun to hit the wider economy.
The occupation of Bangkok's ritziest shopping area by protesters has forced hotels, malls and offices to close doors and cut jobs. The tourism sector makes up 6 percent of the economy, but employs 15 percent of the national workforce. So loss of tourism has a knock-on effect on economic activity.
Foreign investors have turned negative since violence flared in April and have sold 17.4 billion baht ($539 million) in Thai shares over the past five sessions, cutting their net buying so far this year to 21 billion baht as of Tuesday.
Stocks fell another 1.2 percent on Friday.
The cost of insuring Thai debt jumped the most in 15 months and Thai bond yields fell to a nine-month low on Friday as the wave of violence prompted investors to rush to the relative safety of government debt.
Five-year credit default swaps, used to hedge against debt default but also to speculate on country risk, jumped by more than 30 basis points to 142.
Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Wednesday the protests could cut growth by 0.3 percentage point off his 4.5-5.0 percent growth forecast. Kasikorn Research Center said growth could be cut by as much as 2 points if there were more clashes.
Consumer confidence fell in February and March, after hitting a 21-month high in January, due to political turmoil, sinking to its lowest since July 2009, with sentiment eroded by political unrest and the possibility of a crackdown.
