Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand braced for anti-government demonstrations that began Friday and were expected to peak over the weekend with as many as 150,000 protesters on the streets.
In anticipation, the government has mobilized 50,000 security forces, said acting spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn.
The mass rallies are expected to be peaceful but Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd said that crowd-control measures will be used if necessary.
"We will exercise the most effort to explain to demonstrators not to resort to violence, but if worse comes to worst, we may have to apply tear gas," he said.