Coup leaders have chosen a former army commander and close adviser to Thailand’s powerful monarch to lead the country until promised elections next year, the auditor general said today.

Thailand’s military rulers said today that they wrote a temporary constitution appointing themselves advisers to any interim government, and hinted they might replace ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra with an ex-military man.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra may have whisked some of his assets out of the country aboard two aircraft days before a military coup ousted him from power, airline officials said today.

Thailand’s new military leaders today moved to tighten their grip on power, restricting political activities and taking over legislative powers, as former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke his silence on his ousting, saying he would take a rest.

An exiled Muslim rebel leader welcomed Thailand’s military overthrow of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra today, saying the coup could help resolve a bloody Islamic uprising in the country’s south.

The army commander who seized Thailand’s government in a rapid, bloodless coup pledged today to hold elections by October 2007 while hinting that the ousted premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, may face prosecution for wrongdoing.

The military leader who ousted Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today the coup was necessary to end mounting rifts within Thai society and Thaksin's efforts to undermine democracy.

The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra tonight, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of television stations and declaring a provisional authority loyal to the king.

Protesters demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke into and briefly occupied the compound housing his offices tonight, but left peacefully after appeals by demonstration leaders.