Police officer killed in violent protests in Bangkok

A police officer was killed and 14 others were wounded in street clashes between government security forces and protestors in the Thai capital Bangkok on Tuesday.Thai media reports, monitored here, said a number of demonstrators sealed off government buildings in the city, prompting police and security personnel to intervene and try to disperse them with tear-gas.TV footages have also shown ongoing fierce street clashes between the two sides. Last Sunday, the government reached an accord with leaders of the opposition, according to which alleys and streets leading to the besieged government facilities would be reopened, however it was not honored.Police today deployed larger numbers of personnel across the Thai capital in a bid to re-take control of the main roads and the public buildings that have been surrounded by waves of opposition activists.The protesters have been rallying since November to try to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whom they view as a proxy for her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former premier and telecoms tycoon toppled in a military coup in 2006.