Thai junta chief says has not 'damaged' country, rights group disagrees

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha gestures to the media as he leaves after a handover ceremony for the new Royal Thai Army Chief, General Udomdej Sitabutra, at the Thai Army Headquarters in Bangkok September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha vigorously defended his position as leader on Wednesday, more than six months after he seized power in a bloodless coup, as a U.S.-based rights group said the country had fallen into an "apparently bottomless pit".

Thailand has seen a fresh wave of resistance to the junta over the past week with dozens detained and arrested for flashing anti-coup signs in public at the prime minister and for distributing anti-coup leaflets in the capital, Bangkok.