14/01/2014 10:16
Thailand anti-government demonstrators stay out on Bangkok streets
Tens of thousands of demonstrators slept on the streets of Bangkok on Monday night, continuing a protest intended to force Thailand's Prime Minister from office, authorities said, according to CNN.
The protesters have laid siege to major intersections in Thailand's large and hectic capital city. At their peak on Monday evening, they numbered as many as 170,000, Lt. Gen. Paradon Pattanathabut, the nation's security chief, said Tuesday.
But many of the demonstrators have since returned to their homes in the Bangkok area, Paradon said. About 60,000 of them stayed out on the streets overnight, he said, sleeping under tents and mosquito nets.
The protesters, who aim to keep demonstrating for a month, occupied seven main intersections and blocked one government office on Monday.
They say they intend to march to several other ministries, close more intersections and cut off electricity and water supplies at some government offices.
It's all part of an effort dubbed "Bangkok shutdown." It's orchestrated by the People's Democratic Reform Committee protest group, led by Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister for the opposition Democrat Party.