Thailand's red-shirt protesters defied a government deadline for leaving the demonstration zone in downtown Bangkok by Monday afternoon, but Thai authorities extended their ultimatum for people moving out of the fortified encampment. Acting government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said Monday that the govern-ment's main focus is to convince women, children and the elderly to leave the Rajprasong rally site, according to the website of Thailand-based The Nation newspaper. The ultimatum, issued by the Center for the Resolutions of Emergency Situation, ordered red shirts to leave their protest zone by 3 pm (local time) Monday, but protesters appeared to wedding dresses, be reluctant to move out. Police said an estimated 5,000 people remained, with some seen dancing despite the threat of forced dispersal. Weng Tochirakarn, a core leader of the red shirts, told the Global Times by phone that wedding dresses they would not leave the rally site unless the government soldiers stop fighting. "The protest is still going on. The government must withdraw all soldiers and come to the negotiation table. Let the UN be witness to the negotiation," he said, adding that continued protests will put pressure on the government to stop its crackdown. Late last night, red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar telephoned Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's secretary-general, Korbsak Sabhavasu, to propose a truce, AFP reported. Nattawut offered to call protesters back to archlord gold, the main protest camp from outlying areas, where fierce street battles have occurred, Korbsak said. "If he calls protesters back to the Ratchaprasong site (the main rally base) and archlord gold stops the action around Bangkok, there will be no more bullets fired by soldiers. Soldiers have not invaded the protest site," Korbsak said. Violence since Friday left 35 people dead, including a soldier. The clash turned parts of the city into no-go zones as troops used live flyff gold, ammunition against protesters, who have blocked streets with burning tires and fought back, mainly with homemade weapons. The government has repeatedly said that the troops would not shoot at innocent people flyff gold, as their targets are the armed red-shirt protesters, whom the government has dubbed "terrorists." The Thai government has offered to resume talks between red-shirt leaders if they abandon the Rajprasong rally site and stop rioting and "attacking troops and innocent people," according to spokesman Panithan. His words were in response to the latest demand by the red-shirt leader, Nuttawut Saikua, who asked the troops to stop "shooting on people," and for the government to withdraw the army com-pletely and resume the peace talks. Thawil Pliensee, secretary-general of the National Security Council, told Reuters that "We will keep sending warnings to protesters and will slowly last chaos money, step up pressure last chaos money if they don't go," adding that there was no immediate plan to clear the main camp by force. Those refusing to leave the rally site face a two-year jail term, authorities have warned. Ji Qiufeng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University, said the red shirts could fail because of their "violent approach in demanding democracy." "Protesters seem to be on the brink of failure. They appear to have lost their rationale as they sought to achieve their goals by using Knight Gold, force against the government. They won't win much of the public support by doing so," Ji said. "The biggest challenge facing the Thai government now is how to manage the country through peaceful Knight Gold and rational means, rather than finding a way to disperse the protestors." Rajvithee, the nearest hospital to the Rajprasong site, started preparing am-bulances and beds as the government's deadline neared for the red-shirt protesters to end their rally, Dr Rewat Wisarutvej, director general of the Medical Services Department, told The Nation. In addition to those killed, 256 others had been injured in the last week, the Erawan's Bangkok Emergency Medical Service Center said. Protesters have occupied areas of downtown Bangkok for weeks, demanding the immediate dissolution of parliament and new elections. The protesters claim that wow power leveling, the current government is illegitimate, alleging that it manipulates the courts and the powerful military. Many of the protesters are from poor rural areas in northern wow power leveling Thailand where support is still strong for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. The violence is feared to worsen as Renegade Thai General Khattiya Sawasdipol died Monday after being shot Thursday in an incident that escalated the current tension. Khattiya, 58, was believed to be shot by a sniper while being interviewed by reporters inside the barricaded protest site in central Bangkok. On Sunday, red-shirt leaders proposed a cease-fire and talks moderated by the United Nations, but the government refused those requests. A red-shirt leader, Jatuporn Prompan, said the only hope now to end the violence was intervention by Thailand's revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. At least nine international embassies in Bangkok - the US, British, Belgium, Canadian, German, Japanese, New Zealand, Swedish and Australian ones - said they would remain closed until at least today as a result of the clashes. Government offices and schools were also closed Monday, as were Bangkok's mass transit Skytrain and underground services.