ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Thai soldiers confiscated weapons on Thursday (May 22) after army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha took control of the government in a coup, saying the army had to restore order and push through reforms, two days after he declared martial law.
Military personnel outside the army club were seen asking a man to take out his weapons and lay them out on the ground. It was unclear who the man was.
Prayuth made the announcement in a television broadcast after he held a meeting with all rival factions aimed at finding a solution to six months of anti-government protests.
The broadcast came shortly after soldiers took the leader of anti-government protests, Suthep Thaugsuban, out of the meeting that was aimed at finding a solution to a drawn-out power struggle that has polarized the country and battered its economy.
The crisis is the latest installment in a long battle between supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shin
