Pattaya, Thailand: Thailand evacuated Asian leaders by helicopter after hundreds of anti-government protesters stormed into their summit site Saturday, forcing the country's embattled prime minister to cancel the meeting.
The latest fiasco in Thailand's political crisis increased the threat of violence and a possible military crackdown.
More than 1,000 demonstrators broke through a wall of unarmed soldiers, smashed through the convention center's glass doors and ran through the building, blowing horns, waving Thai flags and shouting demands for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign.
They declared victory after Abhisit was forced to cancel the 16-country summit, where leaders of regional powers China, Japan and India, and the U.N. secretary-general and president of the World Bank, planned to discuss the global financial crisis.
Abhisit later denounced the protesters on national television as the "enemies of Thailand."
Image: A Thai military helicopter leaves a rooftop carrying unidentified leaders Saturday, April 11, 2009, in Pattaya, Thailand, following the storming of the 14th ASEAN Convention Center by anti-government protesters.
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