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Marko Cunningham - Source: ONE News -
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Kiwi volunteer ambulance officer Marko Cunningham has been in Bangkok as a fresh wave of violence grips the city.
He told TVNZ News at 8 the situation was getting worse by the second and he had had to move his ambulance because he heard shooting.
"There are bombs going off and there's a lot of shooting."
Thai troops have been battling anti-government protesters in central Bangkok and attempting to seal off their encampment. An assassination attempt on a rogue Thai general leading a militant wing of anti-government protesters unleashed the new wave of violence.
Cunningham said two reporters were stuck at a tea station next to the red shirts' base.
"We can't get them out."
He said he could see "hundreds and hundreds" of army personnel in the streets and major roads have been deserted by the public.
"The police are kind of staying back and aren't armed like the army are. The army is really moving in and kind of fronting the red shirts."
Cunningham has been in Thailand for 10 years, working as a volunteer ambulance officer before buying his own ambulance.
He was one of the first English speaking rescuers to arrive at the Boxing Day tsunami.
A Reuters witness said he saw troops firing repeatedly into an intersection leading to an encampment in a ritzy hotel and shopping district the red shirts have occupied for five weeks, adding he saw several people injured including two journalists.
Cunningham said the red shirts have now come up behind the army and formed another front.
"It's just completely hectic,"
At least one person was killed and 11 people wounded in the violence since Thursday night, but that toll is expected to rise. Many hospitals declined to provide numbers of casualties.
NZ embassy closed
The New Zealand embassy in Thailand has been closed tonight as the political crisis deepens.
The 20 staff that work at the embassy have been told to stay at home until further notice.
Officials will review the closure of the embassy on Monday.
It is understood other embassies in the area, including the US and Britain, have also closed.
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