Thailand airport emergencies declared

A state of emergency has been declared at Bangkok's two commercial airports, where protesters have occupied and closed the facilities, Thai officials said.

It wasn't clear Thursday what the declarations will allow the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to do, The New York Times reported.

Anti-government protesters Wednesday shut down Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi airport, a major Southeast Asian hub, and followed that early Thursday with the closure of Don Muang airport, Bangkok's oldest airfield, the newspaper said.

The seizure of the second airport effectively cut off the Thai capital's commercial air links with the outside world. Thailand Tourism Minister Weerasak Kohsurat told the Times the government is preparing to take stranded tourists to military bases near Bangkok where they would be flown out of the country.

The airport seizures are part of stepped-up effort by anti-government protesters to remove Somchai. The protesters, who have also occupied government offices, claim claim the current administration is a puppet of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pro-government groups have been clashing with protesters, the Times said, and Somchai's supporters formed an auxiliary force known as the red shirts.

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