
Thailand, Cambodian troops trade heavy fire in latest border dispute clash
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Thailand-Cambodia border clash latest: Thai F-16s bomb Cambodian targets as nine killed
Thailand says at least nine civilians have been killed as tensions with Cambodia erupted into exchanges of fire along the two countries’ contested border. Thai authorities have evacuated approximately 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border and said cross-border shelling from Cambodia struck residential areas, a hospital and a fuel station. Cambodia has yet to give information on casualties or injuries.
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Thailand says at least nine civilians have been killed as tensions with Cambodia erupted into exchanges of fire along the two countries’ contested border.
The Thai army said one of its F-16 fighter jets had bombed and destroyed Cambodian military targets hours after the first shots rang out this morning near the ancient Ta Moan Thom temple, where both nations claim the other fired first.
Thai authorities have evacuated approximately 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border and said cross-border shelling from Cambodia struck residential areas, a hospital and a fuel station.
At least 14 people, including a five-year-old boy, were injured in three border provinces of Thailand. Cambodia has yet to give information on casualties or injuries.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said Thai jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”
.The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok.
Thailand said it was closing all border points with Cambodia.
Thailand launches air attacks on Cambodia as deadly border clashes escalate
Thai officials say 12 have been killed in Cambodian shelling, as neighbours trade fire and accusations of blame. Thai army says the victims, who included an 8-year-old boy, had been located across three provinces. A Thai F-16 fighter jet has bombed targets in Cambodia, as a simmering border dispute and diplomatic meltdown rapidly ignited into fierce clashes, bombing and shelling that have killed at least 11 civilians and a soldier in Thailand.Both countries issued statements accusing the other of instigating the fighting that broke out early Thursday near a disputed temple, following weeks of heightened tension between the neighbours. Thailand’s military said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area, who they said had opened fire with heavy weapons, including artillery and long-range BM21 rockets, forcing Thai soldiers to retaliate. Thailand “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,” the ministry said in a statement.
A Thai F-16 fighter jet has bombed targets in Cambodia, as a simmering border dispute and diplomatic meltdown rapidly ignited into fierce clashes, bombing and shelling that have killed at least 11 civilians and a soldier in Thailand.
Thailand and Cambodia each blamed the other for the new outbreak of fighting that erupted early Thursday in an area near the disputed Ta Moan Thom Temple – located in a border area in northwestern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.
Fighting then spread to at least six areas along the border, Thai military official Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said, leading Thailand’s military to close all border checkpoints between the countries.
Thailand’s Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said 11 Thai civilians and a soldier had been killed in Thursday’s violence, with the Thai army saying the victims, who included an 8-year-old boy, had been located across three provinces.
The health minister told reporters that Cambodia’s actions, including an attack on a hospital, should be considered war crimes.
Also among the victims were four civilians killed when the Cambodian army shelled a petrol station about 20km (12 miles) from the border, in the town of Ban Phue in Kantharalak district, Sisaket province, according to reports. Two others were killed when Cambodian shelling struck their homes, Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, the district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told the Reuters news agency.
He added that district authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations. Thai residents, including children and the elderly, have fled to bomb shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tyres.
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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the violence, saying it “gravely threatened peace in the region”.
Both sides trade blame
Both countries issued statements accusing the other of instigating the fighting that broke out early Thursday near a disputed temple, following weeks of heightened tension between the neighbours.
Thailand’s military said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area, who they said had opened fire with heavy weapons, including artillery and long-range BM21 rockets, forcing Thai soldiers to retaliate.
Thailand’s military said six F-16 fighter jets had been readied to deploy in the border conflict, and that their raids had hit two “Cambodian military targets on the ground”, according to Thai military deputy spokesperson Ritcha Suksuwanon.
In a situation deteriorating by the hour, Cambodian forces launched attacks on civilian areas in Thailand, including a hospital, causing deaths, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Thailand “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,” the ministry said in a statement.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said the Thai jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”.
The Cambodian ministry also accused Thailand of attacking first and violating an agreement designed to de-escalate tension, saying its troops had acted in self-defence after coming under attack.
Cambodia’s influential former prime minister, Hun Sen, said in a post on social media that Thailand’s military had shelled two Cambodian provinces bordering Thailand, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear, adding that “the Cambodian army has no choice but to fight back and counterattack”.
He also called for the public to remain calm and not panic-buy rice and other food supplies.
Clashes likely to ‘expand’
The Royal Thai Embassy in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, said the situation on the border had “continuously escalated” and, with clashes likely to “be prolonged and expand”, urged its nationals to leave Cambodia “as soon as possible”, unless they had urgent reasons to remain.
At a briefing, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiaku, expressed Beijing’s deep concern about the situation, saying it hoped both sides would address their issues through dialogue. He said China would play a constructive role in promoting de-escalation.
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Earlier, Beijing’s embassy in Cambodia had warned Chinese citizens there to avoid areas near the Thai border.
Long-simmering dispute ‘exploded’
Reporting from Koh Lanta, southern Thailand, Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng said the dispute “has been simmering for some time, but it seems to have exploded today”.
“There was a feeling up until today that this was a game of pressure, waiting to see who would crack first,” he said. “We hadn’t seen a lot of actual exchanges of fire over the border – but today, that all changed.”
He said the fighting had its origins in a longstanding dispute over the border drawn between the countries by the French during Cambodia’s colonial era, in regions where there had been relatively free movement of people back and forth for generations.
The dispute has dragged on for decades, flaring into deadly military clashes more than 15 years ago, and then again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight further to the north of the conflict areas.
In recent weeks, tensions surged again after Thai soldiers were severely injured by land mines that the Thai military says were newly laid by Cambodian forces on the Thai side of the border. Meanwhile, Cambodia announced that it would begin military conscription from next year.
Cheng said nationalist sentiment was surging on both sides, with strongman Hun Sen – the former Cambodian prime minister and father of the current prime minister – “right at the heart of” whipping up tensions in his country over the dispute.
Thailand, Cambodia downgrade diplomatic relations
The latest fighting comes after a Thai soldier sustained injuries on Wednesday and lost his right leg in a landmine explosion, which authorities in Thailand have blamed on Cambodia. Three Thai soldiers were also injured by a mine blast while on a patrol along the disputed border area on July 16.
Cambodia has denied planting mines, and claims that Thai soldiers have veered off agreed jungle paths and triggered long-buried mines left behind from Cambodia’s decades of civil war.
Following the latest landmine incident, Thailand’s governing Pheu Thai Party said it had recalled Thailand’s ambassador to Cambodia and would expel Cambodia’s ambassador from the country.
Thailand has also downgraded diplomatic relations with Cambodia, the party said.
In response, Cambodia said it would withdraw all of its diplomats from Thailand, and ordered all Thai diplomats to leave the country.
The Cambodian government has also downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to the “lowest level”, reducing it to the rank of “second secretary”, according to local news outlet the Phnom Penh Post.
In May, the long-running border dispute between the two countries boiled over into military clashes that left one Cambodian soldier dead.
Border tension has soured relations between the Southeast Asian neighbours, with the two sides trading barbs and tit-for-tat retaliatory measures, including the closure of border crossings.
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Cambodia has also blocked imports of fuel and gas, as well as fruit and vegetables, from Thailand.
Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border.
What to Know About the Thailand-Cambodia Clash
Thai and Cambodian troops clash near the border. 11 civilians and one soldier were killed, including a 5-year-old boy. Thailand said it would downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia. The two countries have had occasional military clashes for hundreds of years.
The Thai army ordered an immediate evacuation of a border area in Surin Province, and said it had sent F-16 fighter jets to strike targets in Cambodia.
How many people have died?
Thai officials said that 11 civilians and one soldier were killed in the clashes and at least 31 people were injured, including a 5-year-old boy. Thousands of residents have begun evacuating from the area.
What is the context for these clashes?
Longstanding tensions between the countries began to escalate in late May after a skirmish between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border, which led to the death of a Cambodian soldier.
On Wednesday, a Thai soldier lost his leg when a land mine exploded near the border. Thailand then said that it would downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia, recalling its ambassador to the country and expelling Cambodia’s ambassador.
What is the history of the broader conflict?
The two countries have had occasional military clashes and nationalist rivalries for hundreds of years. The border disputes can be traced back to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The two countries interpret the map differently.
Twelve killed in Thailand-Cambodia border clashes
Twelve killed in Thailand-Cambodia military clashes on disputed border. Both sides exchanged gunfire early on Thursday and claimed the other had fired the first shot. The fighting marks an escalation of the dispute between the two South East Asian neighbours that dates back to more than a century. Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia, while Cambodia has downgraded its ties with Thailand which they accuse of using “excessive force” Both countries have asked their citizens near the border to leave the area, with Thailand evacuating 40,000 civilians to safer locations. The latest tensions ramped up in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. In the past two months, both countries have imposed border restrictions on one another. Cambodia banned imports from Thailand such as fruits and vegetables, and stopped importing power and internet services.
43 minutes ago Share Save Jonathan Head BBC News in Bangkok Gavin Butler and Kelly Ng BBC News Share Save
Watch: People take shelter after gunfire breaks out between Thailand and Cambodia troops
Clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops at their disputed border have killed twelve people, Thai authorities say. The fighting marks an escalation of the dispute between the two South East Asian neighbours that dates back to more than a century. Most of the casualties were civilians and they were all from three Thai provinces, according to Thailand’s army, which also reported several people were wounded. Cambodia has yet to confirm if it suffered any casualties. Both sides exchanged gunfire early on Thursday and claimed the other had fired the first shot. It escalated quickly, with Thailand accusing Cambodia of firing rockets and Bangkok carrying out air strikes on Cambodian military targets.
Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia, while Cambodia has downgraded its ties with Thailand which they accuse of using “excessive force”. Both countries have asked their citizens near the border to leave the area, with Thailand evacuating 40,000 civilians to safer locations. “[The fighting] is really serious. We’re in the middle of evacuating,” Sutian Phiwchan, a local resident of Ban Dan district in Thailand’s Buriram province near the Cambodian border, told the BBC. Thai authorities said that a total of 11 civilians – including an eight-year-old and a 15-year-old – as well as one military personnel have been killed in the Surin, Ubon Ratchathani and Srisaket provinces. Thailand and Cambodia have given differing versions of what happened. Thailand’s National Security Council (NSC) claims that just after 07:30 local time (00:30GMT) on Thursday, Cambodia’s military deployed drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops near the border. Shortly afterwards, Cambodian military personnel carrying rocket-propelled grenades gathered near the border. Soldiers on the Thai side attempted negotiations by shouting, but were unsuccessful, the NSC spokesman said, adding that Cambodian soldiers opened fire at around 08:20, forcing the Thai side to retaliate. Thailand has accused Cambodia of deploying heavy weapons, including BM-21 rocket launchers and artillery, causing damage to homes and public facilities including a hospital and a petrol station along the Thai side of the border. Meanwhile Cambodia claims that Thai soldiers initiated the conflict at around 06:30, when they violated a prior agreement by advancing on a Khmer-Hindu temple near the border and placing barbed wire around its base. Thai soldiers then deployed a drone just after 07:00, and fired shots “into the air” at around 08:30 according to Maly Socheata, a spokesperson from Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence. At 08:46, Thai soldiers “pre-emptively” opened fire on Cambodian troops leaving them no choice but to exercise their right to self-defence, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper quoting Socheata. Socheata further accused Thailand of deploying excessive troops, using heavy weapons and carrying out air strikes on Cambodian territory.
Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting?
The dispute dates back to more than a hundred years ago, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia. Things officially became hostile in 2008, when Cambodia tried to register an 11th Century temple located in the disputed area as a Unesco World Heritage Site – a move that was met with heated protest from Thailand. There were sporadic clashes over the years that saw soldiers and civilians killed on both sides. The latest tensions ramped up in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. This plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in more than a decade. In the past two months, both countries have imposed border restrictions on one another. Cambodia banned imports from Thailand such as fruits and vegetables, and stopped importing power and internet services. Both countries have also strengthened troop presence along the border in recent weeks.
Where is the conflict headed?