BANGKOK, April 7 (Reuters) - Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. The border region was one of few areas to reject the ruling junta's constitution in a referendum that saw the document approved last year. "There are 23 simultaneous incidents in three southern provinces and four districts of Songkhla," said Colonel Pramote Prom-in, an army spokesman for the south. The violence was most likely revenge for the killing of two suspected rebels by security forces last month, he told AFP. Thailand's king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years. The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.
Thai King Vajiralongkorn signed into law a new Constitution of Thailand that paves the way for democratic reforms while allowing the Royal Thai Army to retain its influential role in Thai politics.