As we reported, Thai voters went to the polls on Sunday and overwhelmingly backed a military-penned constitution, which critics say solidifies the power of the junta that seized power two years ago.
Advertisement
No organisation has yet taken responsibility for the attacks.
Bomb and arson attacks throughout the seven southern Thai provinces over the past 24 hours left four people dead and 35 injured, including 10 foreign tourists, said the Thai Police.
In the normally peaceful resort town of Hua Hin, blood-spattered tourists were given first aid by rescue workers as forensics teams picked through the rubble, with police in Bangkok scrambling to reassure visitors the situation was under control.
The latest troubles began Thursday afternoon, when a bomb exploded in the southern province of Trang – an area full of lovely beaches and tourist islands – killing one person and injuring six, according to police.
The apparent coordinated attacks in Hua Hin injured 11 foreigners, while the wave of blasts across southern Thailand has wounded dozens of others, noted The Telegraph.
Police believe the series of blasts were acts of local sabotage and not linked to any worldwide militant group, deputy police spokesman Piyaphand Pingmuangsaid told reporters.
The Hua Hin explosions on Thursday night struck a bar area popular with tourists and foreigners were among those injured. The city is home to a swath of beachfront resorts as well as a royal palace.
It is not yet clear who carried out the attacks, but officials have stressed that it was a local act of sabotage and not terrorism.
Friday is a national holiday in Thailand to celebrate Queen Sirikit’s birthday. The ruling junta has declared that defending the monarchy is its priority, especially as there is concern about the process to succeed the ailing 88-year-old king, who is the world’s longest reigning monarch.
The UAE Embassy in Bangkok has urged Emiratis now in Hua Hin District near Bangkok to remain indoors following three blasts in the area.
“They don’t want people to go out, travel, or spend money”, he said in a televised interview, referring to the bombers. Half an hour later, he made it back to his hotel. A Samsung cell phone believed to be a detonating device was recovered, he said.
The fatality Thursday was described in Thai media as a female street food vendor. Their nationalities were not immediately known.
“This ruins business. Hotels, restaurants, tours, we were already suffering, but this, it’s going to ruin our lives”, Natsupa Dechapanya, a tour guide in Hua Hin, told the AP after the latest bombings.
Around an hour later two more bombs went off in Phuket and another explosion ripped through Hua Hin again.
Advertisement
At 9 a.m., two bombs exploded at a clock tower in Prachuab Kirikhan province’s Hua Hin district, killing one person and injuring three. Violence has occasionally spilled over to areas outside the three provinces. His sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who became prime minister in 2011, was ousted in the 2014 army takeover.
