Cambodia-Thailand Clashes Spread On Border As Toll Rises

 

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia spread to new parts of their contested border on Tuesday, forcing a mass exodus of civilians from the disputed frontier as a Trump-brokered truce was derailed by deadly new hostilities.

At least 10 soldiers and civilians have been killed on both sides in the latest spate of fighting, officials say, while more than 140,000 civilians have fled the areas near where jets, tanks, and drones are waging battle.

Thailand and Cambodia dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier, where competing claims by both sides to historic temples can spill over into armed conflict.

This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed — in large part owing to intervention by the U.S. President Donald Trump.

Both sides blame each other for sparking the renewed clash, which on Tuesday expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia.

Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen said his country retaliated against Thailand after Phnom Penh initially denied firing back for two days, as Thailand announced air strikes and tank barrages.

“When is this going to stop?” pleaded Thai farmer, 56-year-old Samlee Tahan, who has stayed behind at her rural home in the border province of Surin to guard her livestock.

“I want this to end already,” she lamented. “It has been prolonged for the second time.”

The Thai army said three soldiers have been killed and 29 wounded since Monday, while Cambodia’s defence ministry said seven of its civilians have been killed and about 20 wounded.

This summer’s truce was announced after Trump’s highly-publicised intervention, as well as more low-key efforts by China and Malaysia — current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Trump flew to Kuala Lumpur in October to proudly oversee the signing of a follow-on deal to wind down troop deployments, welcome ceasefire monitors, and expedite demining efforts.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, while Trump touted the armistice as one of eight conflicts he has “ended” in his first eight months back in power.

Thailand last month paused the pact’s implementation — accusing Cambodia of laying fresh mines in disputed areas — but this week’s violence marks the most major backslide yet.

Fighting has forced Cambodian civilian Poan Hay, 55, to again flee shelling and fighter jets howling above her border home in Oddar Meanchey province.

“It is my fourth time fleeing,” she told AFP from a pagoda shelter 70 kilometres back from the border. “I don’t know when I can return.”

“I want the international community to help Cambodia and tell Thai soldiers to stop.”

More than 21,000 people have been displaced from three Cambodian border provinces, Phnom Penh says, while Bangkok says more than 125,000 civilian evacuees are camping out in 500 makeshift shelters.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged both sides “to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation” and “recommit to the ceasefire”.

But Phnom Penh accused Thai forces of overnight shelling, killing two people travelling on a national road, a d and launching dawn attacks — including near the flashpoint temple of Preah Vihear.

“Now we fight to defend ourselves again,” Cambodia’s former premier Hun Sen said on Facebook.

A grenade attack around the ornate sandstone UNESCO World Heritage Preah Vihear killed one Thai soldier on Tuesday, a Thai army statement said, while indirect fire killed another in Surin province.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters his country’s military would remain resolute.

“Thailand must stand firmly behind those who protect our sovereignty. We cannot stop now,” he said.

Thai navy spokesperson Parat Rattanachaiphan said at a press conference that troops had detected Cambodian soldiers, settlements, and several weapon bases in a disputed coastal area of Trat province.

Parat accused Cambodia of deploying drones to provoke Thai forces and said early on Tuesday they “launched a military operation to drive them out”.

In Thailand’s Surin province, food shop worker Sutida Pusa told the newsmen on Monday that her young and elderly relatives were moved to an evacuation centre, while others stayed behind to guard their property.

She has commuted between temporary shelter and her house — located less than 20 kilometres from the border — to care for family in both places.

For now, “the sounds of fighting aren’t as loud” as clashes earlier this year, said the 30-year-old.

But, she warned, “We never trust the situation.”