Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva today urged people to remain calm after a week of deadly protests and an assassination attempt pushed the nation to the edge of chaos.

abhisit vejjajiva Abhisit vowed the government would bring to justice those responsible for Friday's attack on Sondhi Limthongkul, the leader of the so-called "Yellow Shirt" movement who led a blockade of Bangkok's airports last year.

The bid to kill Sondhi came days after rival "Red Shirts" - supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra - clashed with troops in riots in Bangkok that left two people dead and 123 injured.

"I call for all sides to remain calm," Abhisit said in his weekly national television address. "Anyone who tries to incite further unrest, intimidation and underground struggling is jeopardising our country and democracy."

anti abhisit vejjajiva thailand protestors in bangkok 090409 03 The premier said he had to keep a state of emergency in place in Bangkok and surrounding areas for now to maintain order, but added that the government was "speeding up work in order to lift it".

He asked supporters of Sondhi's movement, the royalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), to avoid using the assassination attempt as a pretext for taking to the streets again.

"This case will be resolved in a straightforward manner and as soon as possible, so I ask all those who support the PAD to be calm and don't make any movement," he said.

Sondhi's car raked with gunfire

Abhisit said he had ordered the national police chief to speed up the investigation into the attack on Sondhi and also to find key "Red Shirt" leaders accused of inciting the unrest.

Sondhi Limthongkul Gunmen raked Sondhi's car with automatic weapons fire on Friday, wounding him, his driver and an aide.

Doctors said Sondhi had left intensive care today and was able to eat and walk by himself following an operation to remove a bullet fragment from his skull.

The PAD has said it believed "men in uniform" were to blame, a suspicion echoed by local media. In recent weeks the group has called for a shake-up within army ranks.

The PAD held massive protests that led to the military coup that toppled Thaksin in 2006. It took to the streets again last year and helped bring down two prime ministers linked to Thaksin, who is living in exile.

'Red Shirts' want Abhisit to step down

Thai troops battle protesters in Bangkok streets. The rival "Red Shirts" have been campaigning for Abhisit to step down since he took power in December following what they say was a politically-motivated court ruling that drove Thaksin's allies from government.

Last weekend, they forced the cancellation of a major Asian summit in Thailand, before returning to cause chaos in Bangkok.

Abhisit said that the government would "brainstorm" possible changes to the law or to a constitution adopted in 2007 under the junta that ousted Thaksin - key demands of Thaksin's supporters.

"The government is ready to respond but we will do it through a peaceful legal process and on reasonable grounds," he said.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said separately that the situation in the capital had not returned to normal and that there were still some people attempting to incite further protests.

He added that the number of troops deployed in Bangkok and surrounding areas under the state of emergency was being gradually reduced. - AFP