BANGKOK : Five people have died in clashes between Thai troops and ‘Red Shirt’ anti-government protesters in Bangkok, according to an updated toll from local hospitals on Friday.The official Erawan emergency centre said 46 people were also wounded in the latest violence, which came after troops moved to seal off the demonstrators' rally site in the heart of the capital's retail district.Troops opened fire as clashes broke out after the army vowed to clear an area of the capital of protesters.Army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said there were about 2,000 Red Shirt protesters in the area and that the order was given Friday morning to disperse them after they had "intimidated authorities with weapons".At least 31 people have been killed and about 1,000 injured in Bangkok in a series of confrontations and attacks since the protests began in mid-March -- Thailand's worst political violence in almost two decades.The Reds consider the government illegitimate because it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote after a court ruling ousted elected allies of their hero, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was unseated in a 2006 coup.
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