<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"In an offensive dubbed \"Operation Valentine,\" thousands of Thai riot police stormed the country's capital city to remove anti-government protesters from sites they've occupied for up to several months.\nSome 5,000 police officers participated in the operation on Friday, retaking the areas surrounding the Government House in Bangkok. Law enforcement leaders said they would try to carry out the operation without resorting to violence.\nSee also: 11 Shocking Google Earth Before-and-After Photos\n\"Our police are ready to reclaim space and will try to avoid violence,\" Paradorn Pattanathabutr, chief of the National Security Council, told the International Business Times. \nHundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in November to demand the removal of Thailand's Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. The protests, which have been festive at times but also violent, stem from a political amnesty bill proposed by Thai lawmakers in August., which was voted down in November.\nThe bill would allow former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's older brother, to return to the country without facing prison time. The military ousted Thaksin for corruption in 2006, at which point he fled the country. Yingluck became Thailand's first female prime minister after winning an election in 2011.\nBelow is a collection of striking images from Friday's Operation Valentine.\nOperation Valentine\n\n\nProtests in Thailand\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStorming the Protest Site\nRiot police storm an anti-government protest site near Government House in Bangkok .\n\nImage: KC Ortiz/AFP/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBandana Mask\nAn anti-government protestor covers her face with a bandana during a protest near the Government House building in Bangkok on February 14, 2014.\n\nImage: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRiot Police\nAn armed policeman observes the demonstration by anti-government protestors near the Government House building in Bangkok. Thousands of riot police were deployed in the Thai capital to clear areas occupied for weeks by opposition protesters seeking to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office. \n\nImage: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Lines Are Drawn\nAn anti-government protesters denounce riot police after they retook a protest site in Bangkok.\n\nImage: Wally Santana/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSitting His Ground\nA man confronts police officers during an operation to reclaim government offices occupied by anti-government protesters on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. \n\nImage: Wason Wanichakorn/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWaving the Flag\nAn anti-government protestor waves the Thai flag near the Government House building.\n\nImage: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRetaking the Site\nA riot policeman removes a woman from her tent as they retake a stretch of a road occupied by anti-government protesters in Bangkok.\n\nImage: Wally Santana/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nProtest Prayer\nA man prays as he and colleagues confront with Thai policemen who start their operation to reclaim government offices occupied by anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Feb. 14, 2014. \n\nImage: Wason Wanichakorn/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFace to Face\nAnti-government protesters attempt to hold back riot police trying to retake a protest site in Bangkok, Thailand on Feb. 14, 2014. Riot police cleared anti-government protesters from a major boulevard in the Thai capital in a small victory for authorities as they try to reclaim areas that have been closed during a three-month push to unseat Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.\n\nImage: Wally Santana/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTears for the Protest\nA boy, who came to the rally site with his parents, cries while Thai policemen start their operation to reclaim government offices occupied by anti-government protesters on the outskirts of Bangkok.\n\nImage: Wason Wanichakorn/Associated Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/02/14/thailand-operation-valentine/>