Protesters fortify camps in heart of Bangkok

Thanyarat Doksone (AP)

Soldiers look on as monks make their rounds near an anti-government rally site (AP).

BANGKOK – Thai protesters said Tuesday that they would fortify their sprawling encampment in Bangkok's upscale hotel-and-shopping district before venturing out to "wage a big war" to topple the government they decry as illegitimate. Soldiers in full combat gear guarded other nearby sections of the capital in an increasingly tense standoff that has shuttered 5-star hotels and glitzy shopping malls and threatens to damage Thailand's sunny image as a tourist paradise. Source

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But Reuters is reporting that protesters have now said they would not march on the Silom business district in Bangkok on Tuesday to avoid a confrontation with armed soldiers defending the area. "We will not be going to Silom today because the government has already deployed troops. When those troops are withdrawn, we will march to Silom," Nattawut Saikua, a red shirt leader, told a news conference. Source

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