Policeman shot dead as squads try to clear demonstration camps in capital

Clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators in Bangkok left three people dead and 57 others injured on Tuesday as riot officers attempted to clear protest camps around the Thai capital.

Multiple gunshots were heard at midday near the prime minister's office where riot police had started to remove protesters and dismantle a makeshift stage, but it wasn't clear who was firing.

Adul Saengsingkaew, Thailand's national police chief, said one officer was killed by a gunshot to the head on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

"One policeman has died and 14 police were injured," he said. "The policeman who was killed died while being sent to a hospital. He was shot in the head."

Emergency medical services said two male civilians also died, including a 52-year-old who died from a head wound. Nearly 60 others were injured in the incident.

Department of Special Investigation chief Tharit Pengdit said at a televised news conference that the protesters had launched grenades at police.

The violence erupted after officers moved into several locations around the city to detain and remove protesters who have been camped out for weeks to press for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's resignation.

They have blocked access to government offices since late last year and occupied key intersections around Bangkok for about a month. Until now, police had refrained from dispersing them for fear of unleashing violence.

But on Monday, the government's special security command center announced it would reclaim five protest sites around the city for public use, a move made possible under a state of emergency declared in January.

Thousands of police, including armed anti-riot squads, were deployed across the city on Tuesday in an operation the government called Peace for Bangkok.

Earlier on Tuesday, 144 protesters gathered near the Energy Ministry in the north of the city were peacefully detained and herded onto police trucks to be taken for questioning, Tharit said.

Akanat Promphan, a spokesman for the anti-government movement, said: "The arrests don't affect us. The will of the people is still strong. The government is trapped. It has no way forward."

The operations came a day before the Thai Civil Court hands down a ruling on the caretaker government's invocation of the emergency decree, which allows authorities to exercise wide powers to hold protesters in custody for 30 days without charges.

If the decree is struck down by the court, the government will be forced to dismantle the special security command center it set up to enforce the emergency measures.

The protesters want Yingluck to step aside for an unelected people's council to implement reforms they say are needed to end corruption.

Since the protests began in November, at least 12 people have been killed and scores injured.

Caretaker Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said the protesters hijacked two buses and used them to block a rally site at the Interior Ministry near the Grand Palace.

Thailand has been rocked by political unrest since 2006 when Yingluck's brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. Since then, his supporters and opponents have vied for power, sometimes violently.

AP - Reuters - AFP