The kingdom was rocked by two separate demonstrations on Saturday, with hardline anti-Thaksin protesters also clashing with police near an ancient temple on the disputed border with Cambodia.

In the capital, around 26,000 so-called ‘Red Shirts’ dispersed on early Sunday after having gathered outside the main government offices to hear a speech delivered by exiled billionaire Thaksin from a secret location.

"We will continue to stage our rallies. The fight will not end until democracy is restored in Thailand," Nattawut Saikuar, one of the main leaders of the Red Shirts, told AFP as the protesters went home.

He said the movement, which receive support from Thailand's rural north where people benefited from Thaksin's populist policies, would now open schools to ‘educate people about democracy’.