Anti-government protesters shout as they get ready to attack a police barricade in Bangkok, Nov. 25, 2013.
Protesters surrounded the interior ministry in Bangkok on Tuesday, escalating a showdown between opposition and the Thai government that threatens to unseat the president and ruling party.
Suthep Thaugsuban, an opposition activist leading the demonstrations, said Tuesday for the first time that his aim is to topple a government he has accused of corruption and replace it with a non-elected council, the Associated Press reports.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered stepped up security measures beginning late Monday in the capital and nearby regions, as protesters surrounded and in some cases stormed government ministries, forcing the evacuation of civil servants.
TIME’s Charlie Campbell provides a helpful primer on the unfolding confrontation here.
