BANGKOK - Former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006, warned of bloodshed if the army stages another coup to end the political turmoil paralysing the kingdom.

He said in a video interview posted on a reporter's blog that the army had a duty to enforce law and order as protesters force the closure of Bangkok's two airports.

'If the coup were to happen, there will be bloodshed - it will not be an easy coup like in the past because the people in Thailand, now they are in hardship,' he said in the interview with US blogger Thomas Crampton.

'They (the army) are government officials, their salary paid by taxpayers, so they have to do whatever (is the) wish of the whole citizens of Thailand, not just minority groups,' he said.

His comments come as his old foes in the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) upped their campaign to topple his brother-in-law, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who they accuse of being Thaksin's puppet.

Powerful army chief General Anupong Paojinda has said he does not want to disperse thousands of PAD supporters who shut down the two airports because of fears of violent clashes. He also called on MrSomchai to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections - suggestions the latter swiftly rejected.

'The airport must be reopened and those protesters must respect not just the law but the whole citizens of Thailand,' Thaksin said. He is living in exile to escape corruption charges mounting against him. He was last month sentenced in absentia to two years' jail for helping his ex-wife buy state land when he was premier.