Panitan Wattanayagorn, a lecturer at Chualongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science, said more than one person might have been involved in planning and ordering the bomb attacks.

He said the masterminds could be called “insiders” because they were apparently aware about the handling of security affairs by government agencies during the transitional period after the end of the rule of the junta — the National Council for Peace and Order.

“The planners, who gave the orders, apparently knew about certain mechanisms well. For example, they knew about the handing over of areas and missions of the national peacekeeping force to the police,” Panitan said.

“This led to a vacuum because the withdrawal of troops of the peacekeeping force brought to a halt the use of Article 44 [of the post-coup charter] and led to troops ending their monitoring and pressuring those with the potential to engage in violence.

“The police have a working style different from that of the soldiers, or the police might not have started working to the full extent yet.”

Panitan said one factor that provided an opportunity for the bombers to launch the attacks was the large deployment of the police force for security at the venue of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bangkok.

Panitan said he believed the bomb attacks were likely planned for a long time and there might have been some trial runs to see if the bombers were well prepared before the attacks were launched when the masterminds saw a window of opportunity.

“They definitely knew about the internal affairs of the government well. In particular, they knew about the handing over of duties from the peacekeeping force. They knew about the change of command from the deputy prime minister to the prime minister.

“In other words, there were both changes of personnel and in the chain of command. More importantly, there was a change of government. Although the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the interior minister continue in the new government, the situation has changed,” Panitan said.

In the new government, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha replaced General Prawit Wongsuwan as defence minister while Prawit became only a deputy PM. Prayut also replaced Prawit as the one supervising security affairs of both the Royal Thai Police and the Armed Forces.

Panitan said the incidents met all the textbook criteria of terror attacks.

“They were attacks based on the textbook to create public panic with the goal of embarrassing the government. The government immediately came under heavy pressure. Instead of proceeding with the task of ruling the country, the government would have to be worried about security,” Panitan said.

He said the government was lucky to have been able to arrest some suspects otherwise its credibility would have been severely dented.

Two men from Narathiwat province have reportedly been arrested for allegedly dropping two fake bombs in front of the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday evening before the five blasts in the capital on Friday morning.

Piyabutr said the events might affect the public’s confidence in the political situation returning to normalcy.

“I believe that the people understand the situation well. And we must lend a hand to prevent the situation from escalating until the government cites it as the reason to use a special power again,” Piyabutr said.

He said it was still not clear as to who had launched the attacks so the government should not blame anyone without evidence.

He said the Future Forward Party would like to send moral support to the officials who are maintaining security. He also urged people to exercise caution.

“We also want to send moral support to the prime minister and the deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs because they just took office and are now encountering these kind of things,” Piyabutr said.

“I want them to be able to handle the situation in the way they have always spoken they would if they were elected — that the country would have peace and order.

“Don’t let the people feel that the budget spent on security affairs was used to establish security only for the [now-defunct] National Council for Peace and Order and for the government. Please also use the money to provide security for the life and properties of the people,” Piyabutr told the government.

Phiphat and his staff and officials from the ministry visited Yaowarat at night after explosions at five locations in Bangkok shook public confidence. He greeted and shook hands with foreign tourists and assured them that the situation was under control.

Phiphat later told reporters that the bomb incidents would not affect Thailand’s tourism in general.

The ministry has instructed the Tourist Police Bureau, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Tourism Standard and Tourist Safety Division and other agencies of the ministry to monitor the situation and ensure the safety of tourists.

Phiphat said agencies of the tourism ministry had been instructed to dispatch officials to key tourist destinations to rebuild confidence among foreign tourists.

He said the situation was under control and police in uniform and plain clothes had stepped up security at all major locations “for the utmost safety of Thais and foreigners, who may visit the Kingdom during vacations or for business”.

Phiphat said tourists can call tourist police on 1155 at anytime when they encounter untoward incidents.

ISOC spokesperson Maj-General Thanathip Sawangsaeng confirmed that the news circulated on social media was just a rumour.

A message that appeared to be a state announcement that Ratchaprasong intersection, Siam Square, Victory Monument, Democracy Monument, all city railway stations, Hualamphong Railway Station and all bus terminals were under tight security has been widely circulated on Line.

However, the spokesman said no such announcement has been made, adding that police officers will be providing security at the bomb-blast sites, not soldiers.

Thanathip also said that ISOC will welcome any additional information about the incidents, adding that the agency will coordinate with other agencies about the intelligence gathered.

Sudarat said the issue was a serious one as it concerned the safety of Bangkok residents.

“I would like to send my moral support to Bangkokians and I would like to ask them to be careful, as we are still confused as to what has happened. We don’t know who played which game, but this was dangerous and people got hurt. This could cause losses to people’s lives and assets,” Sudarat said.

“I would like to call on the officials concerned, both the government and police and troops, to speed up efforts to find those who did it.”

She said the locations where the bombs were planted have security cameras, and so officials could check to make arrests as soon as possible.

“We, the people, want to find out what happened as soon as possible,” Sudarat said.

She also called on police to step up security by dispatching units to patrol various areas so that the people could be assured of their security.

“The security at various public places should be stepped up. And I would like to send my moral support to the officials who are working,” Sudarat added.

She said the bombs were definitely aimed at creating a situation to serve a certain purpose.

“There must be some people who gained something from the incidents. But the people are the ones who stand to lose We could not tolerate anyone seeking interest from this kind of incident by risking the lives of Thais and Bangkokians,” Sudarat added.

“No matter which game it was, anyone who stood to gain from creating this situation must be condemned. It’s very bad to play with the people’s lives and assets and morale to try to gain interest.”

The small fires broke out at three spots in the Pratunam area early in the morning, before a series of small bombs targeted the Government complex in Chaeng Wattana, a BTS station and a soi off Rama IX road later in the morning.

The fires were each put out in about a half-hour.

The source said police checking the fire scenes found elements for making homemade bombs at the three sites, leading to the conclusion that they were acts of arson linked to the bomb attacks.

Pol Col Watcharawee Thammasena, chief of the subdivision 4 of the Special Branch Police Division 3, said he has stepped up security around the Government House.

He said the police manning each gate of the Government House had been instructed to closely monitor passers-by to prevent any attempt to create a disturbance.

Watcharawaee said police cars will also patrol the roads around the Government House around the clock.

The Special Branch police is cooperating with Dusit police station to monitor the roads around the Government House more frequently.

He said the security would be heightened until the situation eases.

The campaign was launched by a user using the account name “an eligible voter”. It aims to raise 75,000 signatures for submission to the Senate to seek her impeachment.

Change.org reported that some 50,000 signatures had been added in the past day.

The campaign alleges that Parina, a Ratchaburi MP with the coalition-leader Phalang Pracharat, has behaved in ways that violate Article 270 of the Constitution.

As at Friday afternoon, the number of signatories stood at 60,256.

The impeachment campaign states that many of Parina’s actions are improper for an MP.

For example, she often used Facebook Live to attack her opponents using rude words. And she also allegedly added an insulting prefix to the name of a female MP with the Future Forward Party.

Government spokeswoman Naruemol Pinyosinthawat said Prayut, who is also the defence minister, has been kept updated about the multiple bomb incidents.

She said the prime minister has ordered police to investigate the incidents and to step up security.

“The prime minister also seeks cooperation from the public. The prime minister asks the public not to panic and to stay alert and inform the authorities of any irregularities,” the spokeswoman said.

National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda signed an order on Saturday to set up the investigative panel, comprising 14 other police generals plus junior investigators.

 Deputy National Police chief Pol General Srivara

The order stated that this special panel has been created to investigate the planting of two fake bombs in front of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters at 3.45pm on Thursday and a series of bomb blasts at a government office, a community areas and public areas in Bangkok on Friday morning.

Bangkok was hit by a series of bomb blasts and small fires beginning early on Friday, a day after a bomb scare in front of the Royal Thai Police headquarters. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha pleaded with the public on Friday morning not to panic and instructed police to rush to bring those behind a series of bombings in Bangkok to justice, the government spokesman said.

Prayut, who is also the defence minister, additionally ordered police to investigate the incidents and to step up security, and requested that the public report any irregularities that they observe.

The first incident happened at 7.05am in front of the Government Complex in the Chaeng Wattana area.

Officials there heard three explosions. The first two explosions were heard nearly simultaneously, with a third explosion coming a moment later.

The Thung Song Hong police station was at 7:05am alerted to the explosions in the park fronting Building B of the complex in Thung Song Hong sub-district. The explosions damaged trees.

Police cordoned off the area for officers from the explosive ordnance disposal unit to examine the scene and they found that homemade bombs had been used.

No casualties were reported in this incident.

At 8:36am, a further two explosions occurred near Chong Nonsee station on the BTS Skytrain line.

Police said an explosion occurred in front of the Mahanakhon Building near the station, with a second going off in a sidewalk garden under the station.

The blast caused the soil from the spot to spill out onto the sidewalk, as well as creating a crack in a glass panel at the station.

The BTS station closed its Gates 2 and 4 following the explosions.

Police deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Kritsana Pattanacharoen said two people were injured in the Chong Nonsee blasts. One was sent to the Chulalongkorn Hospital, while the other was treated at the scene for slight injuries and let go.

Kritsana said police also found metal pellets at the site of the Chong Nonsee blasts.

Then at 8.50am, two road sweepers in Suan Luang district were injured in an explosion on Soi Rama IX 57/1, a soi off Rama IX road.

After examining the area, police determined that the explosion was caused by a ping-pong bomb.

Earlier in the day, police reported that four small fires had broken out in Pratunam area ahead of a Police Commission meeting, which was scheduled to be chaired by the prime minister at the nearby Royal Thai Police headquarters.

No one was injured by the fires, the causes of which have yet to be determined.

The first fire broke out at 5.18am in a single-storey building on Soi Phetchaburi 19.

Half an hour later, at 5.38am, another fire was spotted at the Indra Regent Hotel on Soi Ratchaprarop in Ratchathevi district.

Then at 5.41am, flames started coming out of a pile of clothes under the Indra Regent Hotel building.

Police said another fire broke out at the Chalerm Larp Market nearby at 7am.

All the incidents followed a bomb scare in front of the Royal Thai Police headquarters on Thursday evening, in which a man dropped two boxes under a Police sign which were later determined to contain fake bombs.

Two suspects were arrested on a bus in Chomphon that originated in Bangkok.

Kritsana, a deputy Police spokesman, said police investigators were checking whether all of the blast incidents were related, as well as if they were also related to the bomb scare incident in front of the Royal Thai police building on Thursday.