Thai general calls for new elections

The head of Thailand's powerful army has called for new elections after hundreds of anti-government demonstrators stormed Bangkok's international airport in the climax to months of protests.

In a news conference, Gen Anupong Paochinda asked the Thai government to dissolve parliament to resolve the current political crisis. Fresh elections at the end of 2007 failed to quell the unrest which followed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's ousting in 2006.

However the General denied the move amounted to another military coup. "The government still has full authority. These points are the way to solve the problem which has plunged the country into a deep crisis," he said. "If a coup could end all the troubles, I would do it."

At least 3,000 passengers were stranded on Tuesday after the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took over the airport.

The protestors, led by the royalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), have occupied the government compound in Bangkok for months. Dressed in yellow shirts and headbands they carry flags and portraits of the king they revere, Bhumibol Adulyadej.

A PAD spokesperson said the group would not leave in response to the General's call for fresh elections, while a government spokesman told Reuters it also rejected his proposal.