24 May 2010

Thai capital reopens after protests

9:36 pm on 24 May 2010

Offices, schools and businesses have reopened in the Thai capital, Bangkok, days after a violent end to weeks of anti-government protests.

Traffic jams have returned to highways where last week troops fenced off no-go areas.

Residents and workers within what was called the "red-shirt" protest zone are continuing to clean up as civic services return to normal, the BBC reports.

Nine weeks of protests that left more than 80 dead and hundreds injured were ended by military action last week. A parliamentary session is scheduled for later on Monday.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in his regular television address on Sunday that "everything is calm and returning to normalcy".

The overground railway, the Skytrain, and the underground have resumed normal service, along with public buses.

However, a night-time curfew, from 11pm to 4am, remains in force in Bangkok and 23 provinces.

The "red-shirts" were demanding the resignation of Mr Abhisit, saying his government came to power illegitimately.