Thai riot police Friday began to clear antigovernment protesters from several areas of the capital where they have blockaded streets and government offices for weeks in a bid to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Hundreds of police with body armor and other riot gear blocked entrances to one of the main protest sites outside the government complex in Bangkok's old quarter. Authorities met little resistance when they ordered the demonstrators to leave.
Many of the protesters marched to another protest site when police began removing sand bags, rubber tires and other fortifications from the area.
National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said the authorities planned to retake four areas from the protesters: the government offices in the old quarter, the Energy Ministry, the Interior Ministry and a complex of government offices in the northern suburbs of Bangkok.
Hundreds of police were on standby in the northern suburbs, where protesters led by a Buddhist monk had set up a stage to block the entrance to the complex of government buildings, forcing many offices to relocate to other locations.
Attempts by the authorities to persuade the protesters to abandon the sites have been unsuccessful. The government and security forces for weeks have been assessing how and when to clear the protesters after declaring a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding areas last month.
The emergency order followed protests in the capital aimed at dislodging Ms. Yingluck, whom the demonstrators accuse as acting as a front for her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
Ms. Yingluck dissolved parliament in December and called elections for Feb. 2 to help ease tensions. The ballot was disrupted by protesters who vowed to scuttle the vote.
Hundreds of police with body armor and other riot gear blocked entrances to one of the main protest sites outside the government complex in Bangkok's old quarter. Authorities met little resistance when they ordered the demonstrators to leave.
Many of the protesters marched to another protest site when police began removing sand bags, rubber tires and other fortifications from the area.
National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said the authorities planned to retake four areas from the protesters: the government offices in the old quarter, the Energy Ministry, the Interior Ministry and a complex of government offices in the northern suburbs of Bangkok.
Hundreds of police were on standby in the northern suburbs, where protesters led by a Buddhist monk had set up a stage to block the entrance to the complex of government buildings, forcing many offices to relocate to other locations.
Attempts by the authorities to persuade the protesters to abandon the sites have been unsuccessful. The government and security forces for weeks have been assessing how and when to clear the protesters after declaring a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding areas last month.
The emergency order followed protests in the capital aimed at dislodging Ms. Yingluck, whom the demonstrators accuse as acting as a front for her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
Ms. Yingluck dissolved parliament in December and called elections for Feb. 2 to help ease tensions. The ballot was disrupted by protesters who vowed to scuttle the vote.
Source: News in Hindi
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