BANGKOK (AP)– Thai officials on Saturday called an emergency Cabinet meeting in the face of unrelenting anti-government street protests that have raised fears of broader civil unrest across the country.

With negotiations between the protesters and the government on hold and hopes for a peaceful end to the standoff dwindling, calls have grown for international mediators to be involved.
Government spokesman Panithan Wattanayagorn said the Cabinet would meet Sunday morning in a special session. Panithan declined to say what the agenda would be, but it was widely expected to focus on the seven-week crisis that has paralyzed parts of Bangkok.
In recent days, pro-establishment protesters have called on the government to declare martial law and crack down on the Red Shirt protesters, whose barricaded camp occupies streets in Bangkok's commercial center.
The Red Shirts are demanding the government disband Parliament and call elections, and they said Saturday they would ignore any imposition of martial law.
At least 27 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 wounded in sporadic violence between protesters and security forces.
The International Crisis Group think tank said Thailand's political system had broken down and expressed fears the standoff could “deteriorate into an undeclared civil war.”