As many as two civilians have been killed in Thailand, and two Thai soldiers have been injured in heavy clashes with Cambodian troops at a disputed area of their shared border.
Thailand’s military said on Thursday that Cambodian troops had opened fire near the disputed Ta Moan Thom Temple located in a border area in Northwestern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, and intense fighting was ongoing. Thailand’s military said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area.
Following this, Cambodian forces then fired heavy weapons, artillery, and long-range BM21 rockets, they said. Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, a district chief in Thailand’s Surin province, informed reporters that two people were killed and others were injured by Cambodian forces' shelling on Thursday morning. He said some 40,000 people from 86 villages have been evacuated from the border locations.
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence also issued its statement on Thursday, accusing Royal Thai forces of violating the peace. As per the statement, Cambodian troops only responded to the provocations in self-defence.
Meanwhile, shortly after the incident, 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. This was then followed by the deployment of the aerial surveillance tools, including the F-16 fighter jets, for the combat action against the Cambodian forces along the border.
The tensions have peaked between the neighbouring countries in recent times. It will be interesting to see how the escalations in the coming days will be sorted out by the two countries. This is developing news; more details shall follow as they emerge.
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