If soldiers had not returned fire at armed men who shot repeatedly at retreating ambulances full of comrades wounded in clashes near Khok Wua intersection on April 10, there would have been many more soldiers killed, an online memoir by an Army medical officer on duty there has claimed.
The unnamed lieutenant also expressed thanks to civilians friendly with soldiers during and after the clashes - ranging from a grandmother who offered an inhaler to unconscious soldiers, a young girl who shuttled around giving toffees to the troops, and staff from a pizza shop who fanned collapsed soldiers with pizza boxes.
The officer, commander of a medical platoon stationed in the area, insisted no soldiers fired real bullets at demonstrators without good reason. They provided only covering fire when troops were dispersed by the mob and their ambulances were retreating.
Real bullets were fired earlier, but into the air when the clash began. Soldiers in the defensive formation used only what they could to deter the angry mobs and to defend themselves. The final non-lethal weapons to be used were rubber bullets, fired only from shotguns, he said in his memoir. It has been widely circulated on Facebook and other online platforms.
The doctor wrote that the lethal attack from the red shirts came after a smoke grenade was thrown at the troops, as a smoke screen. It was followed by something new to him - an M79 launched grenade. After a second grenade exploded, the commander ordered a retreat.
Unit staff counted 15 M79 grenades used against troops, plus two hand grenades. A soldier saw a laser beam from a nearby building, targeting an Army command that was later shot up.
The lieutenant's unit was not in a large group and might have been missed by the attackers, he wrote.
