CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Some 20,000 people have protested against Moldova's government, days after the International Monetary Fund said it would not negotiate a new loan agreement with the pro-European leadership which says it needs the money to pay salaries and pensions.

Two pro-Russian parties organized Sunday's protest, the latest demonstration since Sept. 6 when tens of thousands protested government policies and called for early elections.

Protesters shouted "down with the thieves!" and at least 30 tents were erected in front of Moldova's Parliament.

Another group, which is not politically affiliated with the main protesters, later put up tents in front of the agriculture ministry where some lawmakers have offices and vowed to continue the protest that they began earlier this month.

In a sign of tensions, police guarded the country's main institutes. By late afternoon, a few thousand protesters remained.

An IMF mission began a two-week visit on Sept. 22, a day after Moldova's central bank governor Dorin Dragutanu resigned following protests over $1.5 billion that disappeared from three Moldovan banks before parliamentary elections in November last year.

The banks were put under the National Bank of Moldova's administration in December and the losses covered by state reserves.

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest nations, has been mired in political instability since then.