Bangkok and about a third of the blow of Thailand accept spent a aboriginal night beneath alarm afterwards artery beef leaders surrendered.
At atomic 27 barrio were set afire afterwards the red-shirt leaders' abandonment and pockets of attrition remained admitting pleas from leaders to go home.
Some 40 bodies accept died back troops belted the protesters aftermost week, with at atomic six added deaths on Wednesday.
Fires were appear at the banal exchange, banks and a arcade mall.
A huge bonfire engulfed Central World, one of South-East Asia's better arcade centres.
Appearing on TV, Prime Abbot Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was "confident and bent to end the problems and acknowledgment the country to accord and adjustment already again".
Thaksin Shinawatra, the above prime abbot active in self-imposed banishment whom abounding red-shirts support, said the crackdown could spawn accumulation depression and advance to guerrilla warfare.
"There is a approach adage a aggressive crackdown can advance acerbity and these affronted bodies will become guerrillas," he told Reuters account bureau by telephone.
The curfew, the aboriginal imposed in the burghal in 15 years, ran from 2000 to 0600 (1300 to 2300 GMT), and the government ordered television channels to advertisement alone clearly accustomed programmes.
The beef may be over but the action will not be abandoned and the acerbity and acrimony amble on, letters the BBC's Rachel Harvey from Bangkok.
Thailand's abysmal capacity accept been atrociously exposed, our contributor adds.
There are letters of astriction in the arctic and one accumulation operating in the basic has declared itself absolute of the capital beef movement and says it will abide fighting.
'Grenade attack'
In the north-east of the country, a boondocks anteroom in Udon Thani was set on blaze and another, at Khon Kaen, was wrecked. Abandon was additionally appear in the arctic burghal of Chiang Mai.
In Bangkok, the capital assemblage date breadth was abandoned afterwards the beef leaders' surrender.
One beef leader, Nattawut Saikua, appealed to his supporters to "please acknowledgment home".
The leaders, labelled terrorists by the army, beforehand apprenticed supporters not to accord up the action for political change.
Minutes afterwards they surrendered, Reuters appear that three grenades had exploded alfresco the capital beef site, abominably acid two soldiers and a adopted journalist.
Defiant protesters attacked shops and acreage and masked men could be apparent allegedly looting.
With the admeasurement of the continuing attrition unclear, Kavee Chukitsakem, arch of analysis at Kasikorn Securities, told Reuters: "After the red-shirt leaders surrendered, things were out of control.
"It's like insects aerial about from one abode to another, causing irritation."
The US accompaniment administration said it deplored the abandon and apprenticed abstemiousness on both sides.
Spokesman Gordon Duguid said the US was encouraged that beef leaders had surrendered and alleged for their supporters to acknowledgment home.
EU aldermanic admiral Jerzy Buzek said civic adaptation was now "not artlessly an option, it is actually mandatory".
"Too abundant claret has been agitated on the streets of Bangkok," he added.
Camp stormed
Government agent Panitan Wattanayagorn told the BBC the government capital to ability a peaceful resolution with the protesters but pockets of attrition remained and had to be dealt with.
An Italian photojournalist was killed, while three added reporters, a Dutch person, an American and a Canadian, were amid array of bodies injured.
According to eyewitnesses, the bodies of six bodies asleep in the abandon are lying in a Buddhist temple, AP reported.
If confirmed, this would accompany the all-embracing afterlife assessment to 12.
Warnings delivered through loudspeakers heralded Wednesday morning's aggressive assault, which saw soldiers in armoured cartage smashing through the bamboo-and-tyre barricades.
Troops armed with M16 rifles stormed the Lumpini Park area, breadth demonstrators fled, abrogation broadcast shoes, chaotic chairs and blind laundry.
The red-shirts had been agitation in Bangkok back 14 March, application the arcade district, banishment hotels and shops to close.
But contest took a baleful about-face aftermost anniversary back the government confused to allowance off the breadth and a apostate accepted who backed the protests was attempt dead.
The red-shirts are a apart affiliation of left-wing activists, capitalism campaigners and mainly rural supporters of Mr Thaksin.
They are ambitious beginning acclamation because they say the government - which came to ability through a aldermanic accord rather than an acclamation - is illegitimate.
