"We will attempt to bring the key transportation systems, working life, and people's life back to normal quickly," said the Supreme Commander in a television address.

A man kneels down to stop Thai soldiers from marching towards the Government House in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, April 13, 2009. [Huang Haimin/Xinhua]

He said the government will not use weapons against the protestors, but protesters must not break the law, otherwise, the security forces have rights to protect themselves.

On the other side, several thousand "red shirts" were still encamped at the Government House.

The leader of red-shirted protestors Natthawut Saikua told supporters to use the Government House as its final protest stronghold and urged supporters to mass there to deter a crackdown by government troops, according to the report on the website of the newspaper Bangkok Post.

A man throws a wooden stick to Thai soldiers while they try to march towards the Government House in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, April 13, 2009. [Huang Haimin/Xinhua]

He urged protestors elsewhere in Bangkok not to clash with the authorities.

The flare-up came at the start of the Thai New Year holiday, traditional Songkran Festival which falls on April 13-15. The chaos will give another blow to tourism, one of Thailand's biggest foreign exchange earners. Several countries and regions, including Australia, China and Russia have issued travel warnings to their citizens.

To solve the political unrest, Thailand's former Senate speaker Suchon Chaleekrua Monday led a group of former senators to file a petition, seeking Thai king's intervention to end the current political violence.

The political unrest in Thailand has been ongoing since former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was removed by a military coup in 2006.

In November last year, swarms of anti-government demonstrators, or called as "yellow-shirted" protestors, marched to the streets and shut down the country's main international airport for one week.

After a court ordered the removal of the previous pro-Thaksin government, Abhisit was appointed by the Parliament in December, prompting displeased Thaksin supporters to stage regular street protests.

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2009)