Thai authorities will shut roads surrounding thousands of anti-government protesters on Thursday evening, sparking calls by demonstrators for reinforcements as tensions rise in the deadliest political crisis in 18 years.

The army will also bring in armoured vehicles to bolster checkpoints, stopping any protesters from entering the area, and urged businesses on roads leading into the protesters’ 3 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) fortified encampment to close on Friday.

“In an operation to step up pressure and limit the protest area, we will bring in armoured vehicles to help protect officers from those militants among protesters,” army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters.

Leaders of the mostly rural and urban poor protesters urged supporters to join their barricaded encampment in Bangkok’s commercial district after authorities delayed plans to cut power and water to the area following outcry from residents.

About 10,000 of the red-shirted protesters ignored a midnight deadline to end their two months of street rallies that have killed 29 people, paralysed parts of Bangkok and slowed growth in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.

Consumer confidence in April suffered its biggest drop since the survey began 12 years ago, new data showed on Thursday, suggesting spending in shops and department stores is drying up as the crisis grinds on, a troubling sign for a sector that accounts for half the economy.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Abhisit is under enormous pressure to end the five-week occupation of the shopping district y protesters who say he lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote 17 months ago.

He faced heavy criticism for announcing plans to cut power and water supplies to the area on Wednesday and then reversing the threat hours later in the face of outrage from residents.

“To come out publicly with a threat, causing major worries among some and raising hope among others, and then to retract it, was a very bad move for Abhisit,” said Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, head of the National Institute of Development Administration, a private research institute.

“It’s another blow to his credibility. And that’s going to make it harder to resolve the crisis, let alone govern.”

FISSURES IN PROTEST MOVEMENT

Abhisit’s threats follow the unravelling of a government peace plan proposed last week to end the crisis that has hardened political divisions.

“We urge that our supporters come and help us here because the more people we have, the harder it is for them to hurt us,” Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader, told cheering supporters.

“We are ready for any attempt to forcibly disperse us. Our guards are ready to protect the site.”

Both sides appear to be running out of options, raising the risk of a violent confrontation and flummoxing investors in one of Asia’s most promising emerging markets.

“The markets have no idea what to make of the situation. It seems like we’re heading back to square one,” said Sukit Udomsirikul, a senior analyst at brokerage Siam City Securities.

“It’s obvious it’s more difficult than they thought in terms of how to disperse the protesters,” Sukit added. “A resolution to the crisis looks far off.”

Foreign investors have turned negative since violence flared in April and have sold ($584 million) in Thai shares in the past six sessions, cutting their net buying so far this year to $607.6 million as of Wednesday.

Disparate views among protest leaders — from radical former communists to academics and aspiring lawmakers — make it difficult to reach consensus. Many face criminal charges for defying an emergency decree and some face terrorism charges carrying a maximum penalty of death.

Several harbour political ambitions and need to appease rank-and-file supporters. Others fear ending the protest now would be a one-way ticket to jail. Some hardliners advocate stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.

“Most people want this to end but they are sceptical because the government cannot guarantee our safety,” Korbkaew Pikulthong, another protest leader, told Reuters. “The problem is some of us face severe charges and the government shows no inclination to be fair to us. A few want to fight on because we have come so far.”

On Wednesday, Abhisit cancelled a proposal to hold elections on Nov. 14 under his “national reconciliation” plan and called off further talks with the protesters.

The red-shirted protesters, mostly supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup, have said they would only disperse if a deputy prime minister faces criminal charges over a deadly April clash between troops and protesters.

(Additional reportiing by Ploy Ten Kate and Panarat Thepgumpanat; writing by Jason Szep; editing by Bill Tarrant)