Thai Prime Minister Flee To A Secret Location

Thailand's Prime Minister has been moved to a secret location after protesters forced their way into a police sports club in Bangkok where she was staying.

The anti-government mob broke into the building where Yingluck Shinawatra had been during the morning, but she was able to leave the premises and go to an undisclosed location, an aide said.

In another area of the city, police have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters near Government House, where Ms Yingluck's office is located.

It is the first time police have used force against protesters who have occupied government offices for the past week in an attempt to topple the PM.

The violence flared near Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium which was hosting a rally by thousands of Red Shirts, who support the embattled premier.

A Red Shirt is attacked by anti-government protesters

The Red Shirts - who also back Ms Yingluck's brother, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - had gathered en masse to ward off any coup attempt against the government.

Police said a 21-year-old had been shot dead. At least five other people were also wounded by gunshots and five more were injured by knives or rocks, officials at the nearby Dr Panya General Hospital said.

It was not immediately known who fired the shots or whether the victims were supporters or opponents of the government.

Those seeking to topple the government also attacked several people they believed were going to the rally.

Yingluck Shinawatra is accused of being a puppet for her brother

Two people were badly beaten and two buses attacked, their windows smashed.

One protester used an iron rod with a Thai flag wrapped around it to smash the driver's side window of one bus.

The buses and one taxi appeared to have been targeted because they carried people wearing red shirts.

Police claimed soon afterwards they had the situation under control, but attacks continued overnight on individual Red Shirts, and the crowds on both sides grew.

Police called for military backup to protect parliament and Ms Yingluck's office.

Protesters tear down barricades outside Government House

Protesters there tore down stone and razor-wire barriers ahead of a planned move to occupy it.

Demonstrators briefly occupied the headquarters of the army on Friday, urging it to join them in a complex power struggle centred on the enduring political influence of Ms Yingluck's billionaire brother.

The tension heightens a nearly decade-long conflict that broadly pits Thailand's traditional establishment of top generals, royalists and the urban middle class against the mostly rural, northern supporters of Mr Thaksin.