Thailand's Deputy Police Commissioner Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit told The Associated Press that four of the protest leaders had surrendered and would be interrogated. They were seen taken away to nearby police headquarters.
Later, metropolitan police spokesman Suporn Pansua said the Bangkok Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against 14 protest leaders including deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who went into self-imposed exile last year before a court convicted him of violating a conflict of interest law.
The arrest warrants cited the protest leaders for creating a public disturbance and illegal assembly, which carry prison terms of up to seven and three years respectively.
"This is not a victory or a loss of any particular group," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a televised address. "If it is victory, it is victory of society that peace and order has returned."
Still he warned the threat from the red-clad protesters was not over." The operation under the state of emergency is not completed. There are still things to do," he said.
Some protesters threatened to regroup after the arrest warrants were issued.
Jakrapob Penkair, a protest leader who has not turned himself in, said the movement, which is demanding Abhisit's resignation and new elections, "will continue fighting." He did not specify what action they would take next.
The protests were only the latest in a long-simmering conflict between two rival groups that was set off by the 2006 coup that removed Thaksin from power. His supporters, the "red-shirts," are drawn largely from the impoverished countryside where he is popular for his populist policies.
They took to the streets after protests of their rivals - the yellow shirts - brought the country to a halt last year by occupying the seat of government and the capital's airports. Those demonstrations, led by a mix of royalists, academics, professionals and retired military who oppose Thaksin, only broke up after court rulings removed his allies from power. Abhisit was later appointed prime minister.
During last year's protest, the security forces refused to crack down on the demonstrations.
"We have not achieved our goal of toppling the status quo and returning power to the majority of the people. We have not achieved our goal of returning the army to the barracks and stopping the ruling elite from intervening in politics. Until that happens, many won't be giving up," Jakrapob said.
The protesters flashed victory signs and shed tears as they walked away or boarded buses provided by the military. In the end, even the police struck a tender note.
"Please take care of your children and the elderly. Please be careful and if you need anything, let the police know," one police commander said through a megaphone. "While you are waiting (for the buses), please stay in the shade."
Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd acknowledged that some protesters were detained without charge, which is allowed under an emergency decree issued Saturday. He declined to comment on the number of people in custody but said they would be released "if there are no charges to press against them."
The government announced it was adding two more days to the three-day Thai New Year holiday, which began Monday, to ensure safety and repair damage from the violence. Despite the turmoil, thousands of Thais, along with foreign tourists, reveled through the night and doused each other with water to usher in the New Year.
"I don't feel that we lost. We were only in a disadvantageous position. We only had heart. We didn't have weapons," said Siri Kadmai, a 45-year-old worker.
Earlier, army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd had said troops were ready to move against the protesters, who had been encamped around Government House since March 26.
Sansern said that by early Tuesday only 2,000 protesters remained around Government House - the demonstrations had swelled to 100,000 last week. He said the soldiers were relying on water cannons, tear gas and clubs and using automatic weapons only when necessary to disperse crowds threatening them.
By nightfall Monday, clashes that had gripped several parts of the city, wounding 123 people, had ebbed. But as the demonstrators tried to make their way back to their base around Government House, deadly fighting erupted between them and residents.
Most of Bangkok's newspapers, irrespective of their political leanings, were critical of the protesters, describing them as "thugs" and "urban terrorists."
Abhisit praised security forces, saying they used "soft means" and "prevented as much damage as possible," though Thaksin - the man most protesters consider their leader - accused the military of covering up the number of people killed in the day's battles.
Thaksin fled the country last year before a court convicted him in absentia of violating a conflict of interest law. He addressed the crowd of protesters via video nearly every evening since the latest round of protests began on March 26.
Abhisit said the news that two people had been killed and 12 wounded in a gunbattle between protesters and residents at Nang Lerng market was "a regrettable incident." But he said that "with the cooperation of the public, I believe success (in restoring peace) is near."
The red shirts took to the streets last month, using tactics similar to those of their rivals last year. They accuse the country's elite - the military, judiciary and other unelected officials - of interfering in politics, and are seeking Thaksin's rehabilitation. Their numbers grew to 100,000 in Bangkok last week.
In a confrontation Monday near Victory Monument, a major traffic circle, a line of troops in full battle gear fired volleys of M-16 fire over the heads of protesters, and turned water cannons on the crowd.
The army spokesman said troops fired blanks into the crowds and live shots overhead. But in an appearance on CNN, Thaksin - the exiled former prime minister - accused the military of lying, saying soldiers used live ammunition, killed protesters and dragged away their bodies.
"They shot people. Many died. Many people were injured," he said.
The protesters also said more than the officially reported number died but Abhisit dismissed Thaksin's assertion, saying "if there were that many people killed, it would not have escaped the eye of the media."
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