Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged fire on their border in a sharp escalation of a conflict that killed at least 12 people, mostly civilians and including two children aged eight and 15.
Both nations accused each other of starting the military clashes and have downgraded diplomatic relations since Wednesday. Thailand also sealed all land border crossings with Cambodia.
Relations between the southeast Asian neighbours have deteriorated sharply since an armed confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier. Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation.
The Thai army said the most casualties occurred in Si Sa Ket province, where six people were killed after shots were fired at a fuel station. At least two dozen people were injured in three border provinces.
The Thai army said it launched air strikes on Thursday on ground military targets in Cambodia, while the Cambodian Defence Ministry said the Thai jets dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Clashes are ongoing in at least six areas along the border, Thai defence ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said.
The first clash on Thursday morning happened in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.
A video from Thailand’s side showed people running from their homes and hiding in a concrete bunker as explosions sounded.
Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs said Cambodia has attacked military and non-military sites in Thailand, including a hospital.
“The Royal Thai Government calls upon Cambodia to take responsibility for the incidents that have occurred, cease attacks against civilian and military targets, and stop all actions that violate Thailand’s sovereignty,” said Nikorndej Balankura, the ministry’s spokesman.
“The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty in accordance with international law and principles.”
Cambodia’s Prime minister Hun Manet said his country had always maintained a position of peaceful resolution of problems, but “we have no choice but to respond with armed force against armed aggression”.
Earlier on Thursday, Cambodia said it was downgrading diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest level, expelling the Thai ambassador and recalling all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok.
That was in response to Thailand withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the Cambodian ambassador on Wednesday in protest at a landmine blast that wounded five Thai soldiers.
The Thai army said of Thursday’s initial clash that its forces heard a drone before seeing six Cambodian soldiers moving closer to Thailand’s station. It said Thai soldiers tried to shout at them to defuse the situation but the Cambodian side opened fire.
Cambodia’s Defence Ministry also said Thailand employed a drone first before opening fire, and that Cambodia “acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity”.
The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh said there were clashes at several border areas that could continue to escalate. It urged Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave the country if they could and advised others not to travel to Cambodia unless absolutely necessary.
On Wednesday, a landmine blast near the border wounded five Thai soldiers, one of whom lost a leg. A week earlier, a landmine in a different contested area exploded and wounded three Thai soldiers.
Thai authorities have alleged the mines were newly laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe. They said the mines were Russian-made and not of a type employed by Thailand’s military.
Cambodia rejected Thailand’s account as “baseless accusations”, pointing out that many unexploded mines and other ordnance are a legacy of 20th century wars and unrest.
The border dispute has also caused political fallout in Thailand, whose prime minister was suspended from office to be investigated for possible ethics violations over the matter.
Border disputes are long-standing issues that have caused periodic tensions between the countries. The most prominent and violent conflicts have been around the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice recognised Cambodian sovereignty over the temple area in a ruling that became a major irritant in the relations of both countries.
Cambodia went back to the court in 2011 after military clashes killed about 20 people. The court reaffirmed the ruling in 2013. – Reuters
