Thai junta disarms rangers close to Thaksin

Thailand's new military rulers have begun disarming thousands of forest rangers led by the deposed PM's ally.

Thailand's new military rulers have begun disarming thousands of forest rangers who were led by a close ally of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, an Army official said on Friday.

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The rangers, who were given rifles to protect country parks, had been under the direction of Yongyuth Tiyapairat, the minister of natural resources and environment in Thaksin's government.

Yongyuth is one of the four officials close to Thaksin who have been detained since the military coup on Tuesday. They are being held at military bases near Bangkok.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not say how many rangers had been disarmed or how many weapons had been seized.

The move came as the military began shifting its forces around the capital, junta spokesman Colonel Acar Tiproch said.

"Navy troops will take over the western part of the city, as the Army will move back to Kanchanaburi" in western Thailand, he said.

"On the northern outskirts, the Army will return to Lop Buri (north of Bangkok) and will be replaced by the Air Force," he added.