Deadline for Thai Parliament dissolution passes

In the first reported violence of the protests, two soldiers were wounded when four grenades exploded inside an army headquarters ringed by the demonstrators, said army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

He did not blame the demonstrators but said there has been intelligence that some elements had been planning such attacks. The grenades were fired from an M-79 launcher, he said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the key target of the massive demonstration, earlier said he could not give in to the protesters' demand to dissolve Parliament by midday but left room for compromise.

The demonstrators marshaled around the heavily defended 11th Infantry Regiment headquarters where Abhisit has been hunkered down in recent days, but after the deadline passed they began a march back to their main encampment.

A protest leader, Veera Musikapong, told a sea of so-called Red Shirts around the regimental compound that new methods would be used to pressure the government, but he gave no details.

"Asking for the dissolution of Parliament before noon in exchange for a halt to the demonstrations, we all agreed it can't be done. However, it doesn't mean the government coalition parties and I won't listen to their ideas," Abhisit said on nationwide television.

Some 100,000 Red Shirt protesters have been camped out along a boulevard in the old part of Bangkok. A force of more than 50,000 soldiers, police and other security personnel has been mobilized in the capital area.

"Our goal is not to remain entrenched in the government. Like all Thais, we'd like to see the country move forward," Abhisit said. "The government must listen to the demonstrators. Although the demand can't be met by noon, we are willing to hear what they say."

With banners waving, thousands of the protesters piled into trucks, rode motorcycles or trudged on foot toward the barbed-wire ringed regimental compound where soldiers played songs composed by the Thai king in a bid to keep things calm. They began to leave a few hours later.

The troops guarding the headquarters were in full combat gear but no weapons were visible except short-barreled rifles for firing tear gas.

City authorities feared traffic chaos in areas of the sprawling capital, but in other quarters, traffic was surprisingly light as many office workers stayed home for fear of violence. Some international schools were closed.

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