DHAKA: Embattled Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra returned to the capital, Bangkok, on Wednesday for traditional New Year celebrations in a display of unity alongside military chiefs before a looming showdown with anti-government protesters.

Demonstrators, who accuse Yingluck of being the puppet of her self-exiled brother former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, have vowed to occupy government ministries and other key sites in Bangkok in their bid to scuttle a snap February 2 election.

The protests since late November have pitted the brother and sister’s political machine with its base among the rural poor in the north against Bangkok’s conservative elite.

It has flared into sporadic violence, and army chief General Prayuth Chan-Ocha refused to rule out a coup after wild clashes outside an election registration centre a week ago.

Three people have been killed since Thursday, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1745 HRS, JAN 01, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor