Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Bangkok today calling on Thailand's military-backed government to call elections or face crippling demonstrations across the capital.
Take a look at a gallery of images from Bangkok
About 80,000 red-shirted supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a military coup in 2006, arrived in trucks, cars and motorbikes from rural provinces over the weekend, carrying red flags and blaring music about democracy and freedom.
Thousands more were expected by this evening, including hundreds who boarded boats in nearby provinces.
Protest leaders said the rally will be peaceful even if it lasts for days.
They plan to maintain pressure on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call an election Mr Thaksin's allies would be well placed to win.
‘We're asking the government to relinquish power and return it to the people,’ said Veera Musikapong, chairman of the protest group, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), setting a 24-hour deadline for Mr Abhisit to dissolve parliament.
If that is not met, they will march throughout Bangkok tomorrow, said protest leader Nattawut Saikua.
Mr Abhisit must go to the polls by the end of next year.
In his weekly radio address today, he indicated immediate elections were unlikely, citing the tense political climate and his coalition government's parliamentary majority.
Thailand deployed 50,000 police, soldiers and other security forces across Bangkok after government warnings of potential sabotage, including bombings and arson.
Several foreign embassies urged their nationals in Bangkok to be cautious.
Protesters accuse the government of scaremongering.
