(Thumbnail Image: Bangkok Post)

"Shoot on sight. That's the order given to the Thai army. Hundreds of troops and dozens of armored vehicles stormed the so-called Red Bastion in the center of Bangkok." (France24)

Weeks after Red Shirt protests began in Bangkok, crippling the city and drawing international attention, numerous failed attempts at negotiations led to a crackdown by the Thai military.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay was on the ground with the troops when the offensive began. His live report:

"An APC has just gone through a Red Shirt barricade. You're about to see another one here. So the first armored personnel carrier, the first troops have entered this Red Shirt protest area. An amazing scene here in downtown Bangkok as another APC goes in. That's No. 2. And troops on foot. There are 300 at least here on Rama 4 road, entering this protest area."

The Thai army offensive lasted several hours until protest leaders in the center of Bangkok surrendered. At least five people died in the most recent clashes, including an Italian journalist.

A reporter for Sky News says the Red Shirt leaders changed their strategy and that was a smart move.

"The Red Shirt leaders inside their fortified encampments told their protesters the tanks are on the streets, the soldiers are outside. We will fight to the death. ... Casualties on both sides but thankfully the Red Shirt leadership surrendered, word got through to the fighters on the perimeter fences, and it ended so abruptly."

But CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer reports some Red Shirts weren't as pleased with the surrender.

"This triggered fury among followers, especially those who have committed themselves in a very hard way to the Red Shirt ideology, people who have camped there for weeks, and they went on a rampage. They ransacked stores, they've set fires, the central world shopping center behind in the darkness is still burning tonight."

And a reporter on the ground with the BBC says while the protest might have ended, the conflict is far from over.

"Well that's it, the protest is now over. All these areas where thousands of people camped out, slept, for weeks and weeks, in this protest in the city center of Bangkok, have now gone. ... But the anger and resentment that started this whole thing in the first place is still there. It's going to be a very long time before the deep divisions within Thailand are healed."

We leave you with more raw footage of the army's crackdown.

WRITER: Newsy Staff

PRODUCER: Newsy Staff