Thai troops open fire on demonstrators

Thai troops have opened fire on rioting anti-government demonstrators in Bangkok in an attempt to throw a security cordon around their protest site.

Tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds were aimed at "red shirt" protesters who hurled stones and launched home-made rockets on three roads in the capital of Thailand.

The latest violence has turned the commerical district into a bloody battlefield.

Two people have been killed and at least 22 wounded, including three journalists, since the fighting erupted Thursday night, according to hospitals and witnesses.

A Bangkok-based Canadian journalist working for France 24 television station was among the wounded, the station said. Two Thai journalists were also shot.

A renegade general, who had been advising red shirts on military strategy, has been shot in the head and critically wounded.

The Red Shirts protesters are occupying a historic district of Bangkok to put pressure on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and call elections.

They believe the coalition government came to power illegitimately through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military.

The British embassy in Bangkok has closed and UK travellers are being urged not to travel to Thailand unless absolutely necessary.