Photo: © 2010 AFP/AAP/PEDRO UGARTE

Around 30 people have been killed on the streets of the capital since Thursday in battles between the army and the anti-government Red Shirts.

The protesters are calling for parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections to be held, saying the government took power illegally through a military coup in 2006.

Tensions have been high since the Supreme Court handed down its verdict on the assets seizure case of overthrown prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra two months ago.

The Red Shirts took to the streets to protest that decision, turning three-and-a-half square kilometres of the city into a fortress of tyres, car parts and bamboo stakes that they've held since.

The situation has escalated in the past week, with the government vowing to end the protest.

Some city streets have been declared shoot-to-kill zones and a curfew put in place, though later retracted. 

Tori Anderson, an Australian living in the battle zone who saw three people shot dead on Saturday, was forced to evacuate her building during an interview with the ABC.

"All the sirens are going off in my building … They're evacuating the whole building, thinking it's all a red zone now. So it's quite scary and we're climbing over the back fence, as I speak, trying to leave quietly away from my building."

Australia, like a number of other countries, has closed its embassy in Thailand to visitors and has issued warnings against travel there.

Concerned about relatives in Thailand? Contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 1300 555 135.