Bangkok Wednesday, Armored Military Vehicles Gathering Early this Morning

Large numbers of troops and armored vehicles were gathering early on Wednesday in Bangkok's business district near the entrance to a fortified encampment of anti-government protesters.

Yesterday, the Thai government said there would be no negotiations with protesters, until they had ended their rally.

A leader of the Red Shirted protesters called on supporters to fight the army, saying he feared an imminent offensive on their protest site occupied by thousands in the heart of Bangkok's commercial district for more than six weeks. Protest guards were seen pouring kerosene over a 10ft high wall that forms one of their main barricades as troops and armored personnel carriers were seen nearby on Silom Road in Bangkok's business district.

We're asking everybody to be ready for a crackdown because armored personnel carriers are beginning to move in (to the area), Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader

Troops have thrown a cordon around the protest site, a "tent city" at the Rachaprasong intersection, paralyzing the heart of Bangkok. Hundreds of women and children have taken refuge in a temple inside the protest area.

The Red Shirts protesters have stockpiled plenty of food, water, and supplies in their encampment since Thursday when troops began an operation to isolate them, sparking several days of street fighting that has killed 39 people and wounded nearly 300 in Thailand's deadliest political violence in 18 years.