Thai riot police have clashed with protestors in the capital, Bangkok, injuring 69 people.
Campaigners have recently intensified their four-month bid to unseat the government and a number of demonstrators were seriously injured in the latest clashes.
Two men had part of their legs blown off by exploding tear gas canisters when police moved against demonstrators barricaded outside parliament in Bangkok since late yesterday.
The 5,000 protestors from the People's Alliance for Democracy regrouped in front of parliament and chanted slogans through sound systems to try to disrupt Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's maiden policy speech.
The protest later spread to Bangkok's police headquarters, where riot police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The protestors responded by lobbing firecrackers at police crouched behind riot shields.
At one point, a city sewage truck drove past the building, spewing sewage on the road.
Outside parliament, a phalanx of riot police seven-deep faced the thousands of PAD supporters, many of them wearing masks and swimming goggles in case of another tear gas attack.
The PAD has occupied the prime minister's offices at Government House since late August, forcing Mr Somchai to run the country from Bangkok's Don Muang airport.
They failed to prevent Mr Somchai from attending the legislative session, which got under way despite the building being on standby power after protestors tore down power lines.
The PAD, a coalition of businessmen, academics and activists, accuses Mr Somchai of being a political proxy for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law, who was removed in a 2006 military coup.
