AThai protester was killed and four wounded when a gunman opened fire on demonstrators whose efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra have flared into violence in recent days.

The shooting came 48 hours after clashes between police and the protesters, who are determined to disrupt a snap February 2 election called by Yingluck, outside a voting registration centre in which two people were killed. The violence is the latest in years of rivalry between Bangkok's establishment and the mostly poor supporters of Yingluck.