The prime minister of military-ruled Burma has reportedly been sacked and placed under house arrest amid allegations of corruption.
"The Thai government has obtained additional information that General Khin Nyunt has been relieved of his premiership and placed under house arrest," government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair told reporters this morning.
"The person who signed the order said Khin Nyunt had been involved in corruption and not suitable to stay in his position," he said.
Diplomats in Yangon said that according to rumours in the capital Khin Nyunt was arrested by officers loyal to army commander and Vice Senior General Maung Aye, the number two in the junta.
Speculation has been rife for months of a widening rift between Khin Nyunt, who had struggled since he was appointed last year to implement his "roadmap to democracy", and the strongman of the secretive junta, Senior General Than Shwe.
The military has ruled the country also known as Myanmar in various guises since 1962 and refused to hand over power to democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after her National League for Democracy won a 1990 election.
Signals that an internal power struggle had reached a climax emerged early in the day from Thai military sources.
Rumours of Khin Nyunt's arrest surfaced late on Monday after he failed to appear on state television during an inspection tour in Mandalay.
Another Thai army general said he had been told that Maung Aye, unhappy with Khin Nyunt's leadership, had pressed the prime minister to resign during a meeting last night.