“At least eight people have been killed as Thai security forces declared a ‘live firing zone’ in downtown Bangkok on Saturday following days of deadly clashes with anti-government protesters.

Saturday’s fatality takes the total number of deaths to 25 since a government-backed clampdown on protesters exploded into violence on Thursday. More than 150 people have been wounded, according to emergency officials.

“Violence erupted during anti-government protests in Thailand Thursday as one demonstrator was killed and a key protest leader was shot in the head while being interviewed by journalists.

Tension soared amid the sound of explosions and gunfire and an anarchic mob atmosphere in downtown Bangkok’s Lumpini Park, where protesters had massed.

Video footage showed one protester dead on the pavement. There was also footage of Red Shirt movement leader Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol lying on the ground, dressed in camouflage, as frantic protesters attempted to move him and get help.

“A series of explosions in the Thai capital Bangkok is reported to have killed at least one person and injured dozens more.

At least some of the blasts were caused by grenades, an army spokesman said, but it was not clear who fired them.

The blasts followed rising tensions in the long-running stand-off between police and anti-government protesters.

“Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency Wednesday, hours after anti-government demonstrators stormed the country’s parliament.

Speaking on nationwide television, he said the ‘purpose is to restore peace and order and to stop the spreading of false information to the Thai public.’

Vejjajiva said the measure is effective in Bangkok and nearby provinces and ‘will limit certain rights of people.’

“Thailand’s seemingly unending political crisis is likely to reach another moment of tension this weekend with huge opposition rallies that organizers say they hope will paralyze the city and bring down the government.

While pledging nonviolence, protest leaders say they will gather hundreds of thousands of mostly rural supporters for mass rallies and blockades of government offices, starting on Friday and building over the following days.