5 die in Thai anti-government clashes, PM flees police complex

Deputy Police Commissioner-General Veerapong Chiewpreecha said five persons were killed inside Ramkhamhaeng University in clashes that continued till this morning. 

Anti-government protesters swarmed many state agencies and took control of Thai PBS television station. Another group of protesters managed to break through barriers to enter the compound of the Interior Ministry.

The protesters declared Sunday “V-Day” as they upped their ante to topple Yingluck and end her family's more than decade-long influence over Thai politics.

They accuse Yingluck of acting as a proxy for her fugitive brother and former Premier Thaksin Shinwatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup. 

National police spokesman Piya Utayo said troops were being sent to a government complex occupied by protesters since Thursday and the Finance Ministry, occupied since Monday.

“We have sent forces to these places to take back government property,” he said on national television.