Tens of thousands join pro-government rally in Bangkok

Tens of thousands of people from across Thailand joined a pro-government rally in Bangkok Saturday to express their support for caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Bangkok Post reported.

Shinawatra's supporters gathered along Aksa Road in the capital's Thawi Watthana district, where the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) intends to mass until Monday.

They warned that the courts were trying to "take over power without elections".

The event has been billed as a last-gasp attempt to save the government of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose future appears likely to be decided by the courts within a few weeks.

As the red-shirts gathered, anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban was rallying supporters 20 km to the east in Lumpini Park for a "final battle".

Suthep said the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) was ready to step in as soon as the judicial axe falls on the current cabinet.

"Once we become the sovereign, we'll seize the assets of the Shinawatra family members. We won't allow them to go abroad. They will need to report to us," he said.

"We will appoint the prime minister of the people and submit the name to His Majesty, to be countersigned by me," he added.