OTTAWA — The government on Wednesday upgraded its travel warning for Thailand, warning Canadians to avoid "non-essential" trips to the kingdom marred by political violence.
In a statement, Canada's foreign affairs department advised "against non-essential travel to the Kingdom of Thailand due to ongoing large-scale political demonstrations, which have been marked by violence, death, and injury".
"The security situation is very volatile with significant potential for further civil unrest, violent clashes, and attacks," said the department.
Canadians already in Thailand should "if violence erupts, remain indoors," it said.
Earlier, Thai troops opened fire on "Red Shirt" protesters during a tense confrontation on a highway in Bangkok's northern suburbs that left one soldier dead and 18 people injured.
The demonstrators hurled rocks at soldiers and riot police, who used coils of razor wire to block their convoy on a major road heading out of the city where they have been rallying for weeks in a bid to overthrow the government.
It was the third bout of bloodshed in recent weeks in Bangkok, where 27 people have died and almost 1,000 have been injured this month in the country's worst political violence in almost two decades.
The Reds want immediate elections to replace Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.
AFP
