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Thailand-Cambodia: civilians killed in border fighting Thailand says 12 people killed in most deadly border clashes with Cambodia in more than a decade
(about 8 hours later)
Thai army says it has launched airstrikes on Cambodian military targets with fighting taking place in six locations Both countries accused the other of opening fire first after weeks of simmering tensions broke out into fighting at six locations
Live coverage: Thailand carries out air strike on Cambodia targets Thailand and Cambodia fought in their most deadly border clashes in more than a decade on Thursday as Thai officials said 11 civilians and a Thai soldier were killed in rocket and artillery attacks.
Fatal clashes have broken out between Thai and Cambodian troops along a disputed section of their border with both countries accusing the other of provocation, after weeks of simmering tensions between the south-east-Asian neighbours. Clashes broke out on Thursday morning after weeks of simmering tensions over a long-running border dispute between the south-east-Asian neighbours. Both countries accused each other of opening fire first.
At least nine Thai civilians were killed across three provinces, the Thai army said. Those killed included an 8-year-old boy and a further 14 people in Thailand have been injured as a result of the fighting, the army said in a statement. At least 11 Thai civilians and one soldier were killed in artillery shelling by Cambodian forces, according to Thailand’s health minister, Somsak Thepsuthin, while 24 civilians and seven military personnel were wounded.
Thailand’s military said it had closed all border checkpoints and that fighting was taking place at six different locations. It said its air force had launched airstrikes on military targets in Cambodia. Somsak said the Cambodian shelling included a strike on a hospital in Surin province, which he said should be considered a war crime.
The fighting comes after clashes broke out near the Khmer Hindu temple Ta Muen Thom on Thursday morning. The Thai military said Cambodian troops had opened fire near the temple, and deployed a surveillance drone before sending in troops with heavy weapons, including rocket launchers. Those killed included an eight-year-old boy, according to the Thai military, which said people had been killed across three provinces. There was fighting at six locations, it said.
Cambodia has denied the claims, with its ministry of national defence saying it was the Thai military that launched the first armed assault. The Thai military said its air force had launched airstrikes on military targets in Cambodia.
Cambodia has not said whether it has recorded any fatalities. The Cambodian defence ministry said Thai jets dropped two bombs on a road, condemning what it described as “reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”.
People on both sides of the border were told to evacuate. Footage from Thailand showed people rushing to seek safety under a concrete structure. In another video, taken from CCTV footage and broadcast on Thai media, a man is clutching a tree for shelter as blasts are heard in the background.
Clashes broke out near the Khmer Hindu temple Ta Muen Thom on Thursday morning. The Thai military said Cambodian troops had opened fire near the temple and deployed a surveillance drone before sending in troops with heavy weapons, including rocket launchers.
Cambodia denied the claims. Its ministry of national defence said the Thai military that launched the first armed assault.
“Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement.“Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement.
In a later statement it condemned what it called reckless and brutal Thai military aggression, accusing its neighbour of opening fire on its troops and violating an agreement designed to de-escalate tension. Cambodia’s influential former premier Hun Sen, the father of current prime minister, Hun Manet, said that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from Thailand’s military. In a statement posted online, Hun Manet said: “Cambodia has always taken a stand to solve problems peacefully, but in this case we have no choice but to respond with armed forces against armed aggression.”
Cambodia “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia,” it said in a statement, adding Thai fighter jets had been deployed and had dropped two bombs on a road. The clashes are the latest in a history of conflict along Cambodia and Thailand’s 817km border, sections of which are subject to overlapping territorial claims due to disagreements about colonial-era maps. The last major clashes occurred between 2008 and 2011, when fighting and artillery exchanges killed at least 34 people, wounded many more and displaced thousands.
Thailand said an F-16 fighter jet had fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target. The army said several more jets were ready to be deployed. “We have used air power against military targets as planned,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. China was “deeply concerned” by Thursday’s clashes, its foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said, adding that Beijing “has and will continue to in its own way do its best to promote peace and dialogue”.
Cambodia’s influential former premier Hun Sen, the father of current prime minister, Hun Manet, said that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from Thailand’s military. In a statement posted online, Hun Manet said “Cambodia has always taken a stand to solve problems peacefully, but in this case we have no choice but to respond with armed forces against armed aggression.” The Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, whose country chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, called on Thailand and Cambodia to stand down.
The clashes are the latest in a history of conflict along the 817-km border that Cambodia and Thailand share, sections of which are subject to overlapping territorial claims due to disagreements about colonial-era maps. The last major clashes occurred between 2008 and 2011, when fighting and artillery exchanges killed at least 34 people, wounded many more and displaced thousands. The most recent tensions began in May, when troops briefly exchanged fire in a contested area, killing a Cambodian soldier. This led to retaliatory measures by both sides. The crisis escalated further on Wednesday when five Thai soldiers were injured by a landmine, the second such incident in a week. Thailand responded by recalling its ambassador to Cambodia on Wednesday and saying it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok.
The hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand that have continued to escalate in recent months were initially ignited after a Cambodian soldier was killed in May in an armed confrontation in an area both countries claim as their own. Thailand alleged the landmines had been placed in the area recently – claims that Cambodia denies.
Commenting on Thursday’s clashes, Thailand’s acting premier, Phumtham Wechayachai, said the situation at Thailand’s border was “delicate”. “We have to be careful,” he told reporters. “We will follow international law.” The Thai government has ordered the closure of all border checkpoints under the jurisdiction of Thailand’s Second Army, the ruling Pheu Thai party said.
Thursday’s clash came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine in the disputed area.
Thailand has said the landmines had been placed in the area recently, claims that Cambodia describes as baseless. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups.
The Thai government has also ordered the closure of all border checkpoints under the jurisdiction of Thailand’s Second Army, the ruling Pheu Thai party said.
“Tourists are strictly prohibited from entering these border areas,” it said.“Tourists are strictly prohibited from entering these border areas,” it said.
Many border checkpoints have already been closed by one side or the other or operated with restrictions. Many border checkpoints had already been closed by one side or the other or operated with restrictions.
Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation, and Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was suspended from office on 1 July to be investigated for possible ethics violations over her handling of the border dispute. Thailand’s acting premier, Phumtham Wechayachai, said the situation at Thailand’s border was “delicate”. “We have to be careful,” he told reporters. “We will follow international law.”
The details of a phone call she held with Hun Sen in a bid to deescalate the conflict were leaked, with critics accusing her of betraying her country and kowtowing to Cambodia. Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation. Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was suspended from office on 1 July after she was accused of possible ethics violations over her handling of the border dispute.
Mounting tensions have been punctuated by a diplomatic tit-for-tat, with Cambodia banning Thai movies and TV shows, stopping the import of Thai fruits and vegetables and boycotting some of its neighbour’s international internet links and power supply. It also stopped importing fuel from Thailand. She was strongly criticised in Thailand after a recording of her discussing the dispute with Hun Sen were leaked. Critics accused her of kowtowing to Cambodia and betraying her country in the call. She said she was trying to negotiate and calm tensions.
With Reuters and Associated Press Reuters and Associated Press contributed to reporting