BANGKOK, May 12 (UPI) -- Thai government officials Wednesday threatened to cut off utilities and food deliveries in Bangkok neighborhoods where anti-government protesters are encamped.
The announcement came as negotiations between the government and protest leaders stalled after several recent agreements, including provisions for an early election, a key demand of the protesters, The New York Times reported.
The so-called red-shirt protesters have been conducting anti-government rallies to call for the dissolution of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.
The warning of a water and electricity shutdown is one of the grander efforts to end the protests since a failed military crackdown in April left more than two dozen people dead.
Security forces ring the protesters' encampment, but a military official said Wednesday there were no immediate plans to storm the area.
Protest leaders expressed defiance at the government's announcement, saying they would rely on generators for power, the Times said. They also expressed doubt about the depth of the government's resolve because two hospitals are in the area.
"Go ahead and try," protest leader Kokeaw Pikunthong said.
The red-shirt protesters are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 coup.
