Gunman kills Thai anti-govt protester

Thai emergency services say an anti-government protester has been killed after an unknown gunman opened fire at a rally site in Bangkok.

A Thai anti-government protester has been killed and several others wounded after an unknown gunman opened fire at a rally site, emergency services say.

The pre-dawn attack in Bangkok follows weeks of mass anti-government protests - seeking to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra - that have triggered bloody clashes between police and opposition demonstrators.

"The dead man is in his 30s. He was shot in the torso," a spokesman for the city's Erawan emergency centre said.

Police confirmed the shooting but said its forensic team was unable to access the scene of the incident, which happened where a group of protesters was camped overnight near Government House.

It was unclear who fired the shots but armed provocateurs have a history of trying to stir tensions in the politically divided kingdom, with each side usually blaming the other.

Yingluck has called February elections in the hope of bringing an end to the demonstrations seeking to curb her billionaire family's political dominance.

But the protesters have vowed to block the vote, saying it will only return the Shinawatra clan to power.

Eight people, including a policeman, have been killed and about 400 wounded in several outbreaks of street violence.


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Source: AAP


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