Hundreds of Thai troops, many of them armed, were deployed on the streets of Bangkok early Monday to protect the city's financial heart from anti-government rallies, AFP reporters witnessed.
Military and riot police were deployed in the central financial district, known as Silom, close to the Reds' current rally base in the capital's commercial heartland.
"If they come up Silom road, we will block the Red Shirts. We will not attack them, we are blocking them," a soldier said, asking not to be named. The security personnel had stacked uncoiled barbwire at the roadside.
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