As anti-government demonstrations continue in Thailand, army officers protecting government buildings are to carry weapons from now on. The military says the new security measures are being taken because the government is worried about the current situation.

But soldiers deployed in places where demonstrators have gathered in the centre of Bangkok will not be armed.

So far the protests have not led to violence. The red-shirted supporters of the exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, although fewer in number than a week ago, have vowed to carry on demonstrating. They say they will only talk to the government on condition that parliament is dissolved.

The prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has refused to accede to the protesters’ demands. The protesters say the premier came to power illegitimately in a parliamentary vote after a military coup.

Copyright © 2012 euronews