Ceasefire talks amid Bangkok battles

Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikuwa was told by the government's chief negotiator that troops would be called off if the demonstrators retreated into their Bangkok stronghold.

However Nattawut did not make any immediate decision.

Earlier a Thai government ultimatum passed for the estimated 5,000 protesters occupying a barricaded encampment in the city centre to leave by 3pm or face up to two years in prison. The demand had little apparent effect, and unrest still flared in various parts of the area outside the barricades, with troops firing at protesters who were lighting tyres to hide their positions.

The Red Shirts, many of whom are from impoverished rural areas, are trying to remove Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and force immediate elections.