Thai Red Shirts mobilise to defend Yingluck

With a flurry of punches and kicks, hundreds of Thai "Red Shirts" undergo self-defence drills as they mobilise to protect the embattled government, stoking fears of a dangerous new phase of civil conflict. While far from a battle-ready militia, the ranks of sun-weathered rice farmers brim with determination to prevent opposition protesters in Bangkok toppling Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Drawn from the poor but populous north and northeast, the Red Shirts broadly support ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- Yingluck's elder brother. Their rhetoric has crescendoed over the last few weeks, matching an intensifying barrage of legal challenges that could lead to Yingluck's removal from office, according to AFP.