Thailand opposition MPs to resign from parliament

Thailand's main opposition party has announced that all its members will resign from parliament against the government.

The en masse resignation is set to deepen the country's political crisis which has been besieged by widespread protests vowing to overthrow the administration of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of disgraced Thaksin Shinawatra who was toppled in a military coup in 2006.

The minority Democrats, Thailand's main opposition party, are aligned with anti-government protesters, who have vowed to replace the government with an unelected "people's council."

"The party can no longer work in the legislature because the body is no longer accepted by the people," Democrat party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said.

The Democrats have not won an election since 1992, and protesters are demanding a non-elected people's council lead the country.

At least five people have been killed and 289 injured since the protests began last month.

Shinawatra's government came to power in a landslide vote in 2011, a ballot that observers said was free and fair.