On Friday the Thai government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asked the military to provide security for February elections after two people died and more than 150 were wounded in clashes between police and opposition protesters.
Thailand's powerful army chief then said that "anything can happen" when asked whether a coup would happen to resolve the political crisis.
On December 9 Shinawatra dissolved parliament and called for election in an attempt to calm a month of increasingly violent street protests.
BBC's Jonathan Head describes the police as demoralized and "seemingly unable to withstand the attacks by protesters," and this wild photo by Chaiwat Subprasom of Reuters drives that point home:
REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
An anti-government protester (L) uses his knife during a clash with riot policemen at the Thai-Japan youth stadium in central Bangkok December 26, 2013. Thai police fired teargas at anti-government protesters in the capital Bangkok on Thursday after demonstrators tried to disrupt planning for a February election, the first such incident in nearly two weeks.