Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck ShinawatraReuters
Thailand's former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been detained along with other members of her family, in a further sign that the army is tightening its grip on power.
The military junta said that Yingluck has been driven to a "VIP facility" after she was told to report to the military along with more than 100 other politicians. They pledged not to detain her for more than one week .
Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha summoned governors, businessmen and civil servants to the Bangkok Army Club on Friday. The military junta suspended the country's 2007 constitution and imposed a country-wide curfew, just hours after dismissing the caretaker government.
The curfew is to last from 2200 to 0500 each day, while the suspension of the constitution is a temporary measure, a military spokesman said.
In other drastic steps, Thai radio and television networks will only be allowed to broadcast military material, while public gatherings of more than five people are now banned.
Political turmoil has blighted the southeast Asian nation for six months, after former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra -- sister of deposed former PM Thaksin Shinawatra -- dissolved the lower house of the Thai parliament last year.
Chan-ocha said in a televised statement that the military took control of the country's government to "restore order and push through political reform" after two days of failed talks between Thailand's main political factions.
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