Clashes between hundreds of squatters and unidentified black-clad men who attacked their settlement resulted in fires, explosions and injuries on Saturday (July 2).
Some 200 people living illegally in a 616-rai plot in Khlong Luang district of Pathum Thani came under attack at about 3.30pm by a similar number of armed men wearing black. Most of the population of the illegal settlement on the site of the bankrupt Thai Melon Textile Co factory was away at the time, with eligible voters having travelled to their hometowns to vote in the election.
The black-clad attackers set fire to about 30 makeshift huts the squatters had been living in. In total, almost 1,000 wooden huts have been set up on the land. The occupants fought back against the attackers with sticks, stones and possibly guns.
The two sides fought for more than an hour, with gunshots and explosions heard at the scene. Two as-yet unidentified members of the black-clad men were injured in the clash. One was shot in the neck and another was shot in his right knee. They were both rushed to a nearby hospital. Photos by Thiti Wannamontha.
