BANGKOK (AP) Bangkok braced for major disruptions Monday as a massive anti-government march fanned out to 13 locations in a growing bid to topple the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
More than two dozen Bangkok schools along the protest route were closed and police tightened security at the protest destinations, which included the military and police headquarters and the five television stations controlled by the military or the government.
Protesters say they want Yingluck to step down amid claims that her government is controlled by her older brother, ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra. Monday's rally came a day after about 100,000 people marched in Bangkok, staging the largest rally by Thaksin opponents in years.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban promised Monday's march would be peaceful and law-abiding. But the escalating movement, which started last month, has raised concerns of renewed violence in Thailand's ongoing political crisis, which has revolved around Thaksin for years.
Many fear that clashes could erupt between the anti-government protesters and Thaksin's supporters, who are staging their own rally at a Bangkok stadium and have vowed to stay put until the opposition calls off its demonstration.