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Dozens injured in two days of anti-government protests in Thailand

BANGKOK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Thai police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters Monday in violence described as the country's worst political unrest since 2010, officials say.

The skirmishes in Bangkok are aimed at pushing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from power, the Bangkok Post reported.

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Police firing tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets repelled separate groups of protesters attempting to storm police headquarters, the prime minister's office and Parliament.

One protester was reportedly wounded by a real bullet.

Police Maj. Gen. Piya Uthayo, a spokesman for the Center for the Administration of Peace and Order, denied the bullet came from police, who he said used only non-lethal ammunition, the Post reported.

A hospital emergency center reported 58 protesters had been injured since Sunday.

Three people have died since the violence began Sunday. Some 37 police have been injured, police said.

Yingluck has rejected opposition demands she step down, but said she was open to talks, the BBC reported.

In a televised address, Yingluck said, "Anything I can do to make people happy, I am willing to do, but as prime minister, what I can do must be under the constitution."

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"I believe that no one wants to see a repeat of history, where we saw the people suffer and lose their lives,'' she added.

Protesters say the prime minister is controlled by her brother, Thaksin, who was forced out in a military coup in 2006. He has lived in exile in the United Kingdom since being convicted of abuse of power in 2008.

The protests began a week ago and had been largely peaceful until Sunday.

During the 2010 protests, more than 90 people died in a two-month sit-in.

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