Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Violence flared overnight in Bangkok amid anti-government demonstrations intended to drive Thailand's Prime Minister out of office.
Tens of thousands of protesters have disrupted traffic at major intersections and marched on government offices in Thailand's large and hectic capital city this week.
The protests, dubbed "Bangkok shutdown," had begun Monday without serious incident. But on Tuesday night, two people were shot and wounded, an explosive device was thrown at an opposition leader's house, buses were set alight and police officers were attacked, according to authorities.
The protesters say they want Thailand's political system overhauled instead of new elections scheduled for next month. They're demanding that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government be replaced with an unelected "people's council.
"Their numbers dropped from a peak of as many as 170,000 on Monday evening to about 60,000 on Tuesday evening, said Lt. Gen. Paradon Pattanathabut, Thailand's security chief. He said roughly 10,000 demonstrators had stayed out on the streets overnight as others returned to their homes in the Bangkok area.
Protest leaders disagree with the government's estimates of their numbers. They say they had more than one million people on the streets on Tuesday night.
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