27/11/2013 14:24
Thai protesters force evacuation of top crime agency
Anti-government protesters have forced the evacuation of Thailand's top crime-fighting agency, on the fourth day of street demonstrations, the BBC reported.
The marchers, who want the government to step down, targeted a complex of government offices outside the city.
The protest leader said they wanted to shut down government ministries in a bid to cause disruption.
They accuse the government of being controlled by the prime minister's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Bangkok says the mood of the protesters is very friendly, as they and the government side shadow-box around each other.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's secretary general, Suranand Vejjajiva, told the BBC that there were no plans to use the army.
"We are reassured that the police can handle the situation as the protesters are peaceful and do not create any violence," he said.
The protests are being led by former opposition Democrat Party lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, for whom police have issued an arrest warrant.
They began on Sunday and so far have targeted the finance, foreign and interior ministries, among others.
"Let the people go to every ministry that remains to make civil servants stop serving the Thaksin regime,'' the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.