Thai troops opened fire in Bangkok after protesters drove three buses at lines of soldiers during anti-government demonstrations, reports say.
Around 100 soldiers fired assault rifles in sustained bursts into the air when they saw the vehicles heading towards them at the scene of earlier clashes in the capital, news agencies said.
The military crackdown on "red shirt" protesters has left at least 77 people injured, four of whom have suffered gunshot wounds.
An army spokesman said that soldiers were shot at by protesters before dawn, and had fired back.
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The exchange was heard as troops moved to secure a major junction in the capital.
Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd told a radio station that troops fired into the air first in response to tear gas and smoke bombs thrown at them by protesters but then fired real bullets.
More than 400 soldiers are involved in the operation to disperse a group of several hundred protesters in the city under a state of emergency.
