Bangkok ? Thai protest leaders say they will accept an offer by the Senate to mediate talks with the government to end violence in Bangkok that has killed 37 people in the past five days.

A leader of the Red Shirt protesters, Weng Tojirakarn, has told a news conference “we accept the proposal from the Senate.”

Another protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, said today, “It would not be right if I set conditions for the Senate.”

The Senate on Monday offered to mediate between the two sides providing they both stopped fighting.

Security forces arrested a 12-year-old boy today for allegedly setting fire to several houses during the mayhem gripping the Thai capital as the United Nations urged the government and Red Shirt protesters to negotiate.