Thai authorities have issued arrest warrants for 13 protest leaders and the man the protesters support, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.The group had been charged with inciting a public disturbance and illegal assembly, the warrant said.
The protests have shut down large parts of the capital, Bangkok, for the last three weeks. Clashes on Monday left two people dead and dozens of others hurt.
But on Tuesday, as troops massed, the protesters called off their action.
Overnight the army hemmed in several thousand activists around Government House.
More soldiers then moved in, prompting the protest leaders to call on their remaining followers to go home to avoid further bloodshed.
I'm sad we've not received justice but if we'd have stayed we would have been in danger
Kannika Saikaew Protester.
The protesters support former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in a 2006 coup.
They want the current government, under Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva, to step down and fresh elections to be called.
Mr Thaksin has been living in overseas exile for much of the last three years. Last year a Thai court convicted him in absentia of corruption.
