Thailand launched airstrikes along the disputed border with Cambodia on Monday, with both sides accusing the other of break a ceasefire which ended the fighting earlier this year.
Long-running border conflicts escalated into five days of fighting in July that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. US President Trump has pushed Southeast Asian neighbors to sign a truce agreement in October, but tensions continued to simmer.
Thailand’s Defense Ministry said more than 35,000 people left areas near the border to seek shelter and others were believed to have fled to stay with relatives elsewhere, while Cambodia’s Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said residents of several villages near the border had been evacuated.
The ceasefire came under strain in early November after Thai troops were injured by landmines, leading Thailand to announce it would indefinitely suspend implementation of the agreement. The two sides continue to trade accusations about their responsibility, even though they are supposed to cooperate to get rid of the mines.
Mr. Trump said in mid-November that he had intervened to preserve the ceasefire as tensions simmered between the two countries.
But another brief bout of fighting took place along the border on Sunday, after which both sides said the other had fired first. The Thai military said Cambodian gunfire wounded two Thai soldiers and Thai troops returned fire, leading to an exchange of fire that lasted about 20 minutes. Cambodia said the Thai side fired first and its own troops did not return fire.
On Monday, Thai army spokesman Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree said Cambodian troops fired first into Thai territory in several areas. He said one Thai soldier was killed and four other soldiers injured, and civilians were being evacuated from affected areas.
Thailand used aircraft “to strike military targets in several areas to suppress Cambodian supporting fire”, he said.
Royal Thai Army via AP
Cambodian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said the Thai army attacked Cambodian troops first on Monday and that Cambodia did not retaliate during the initial attacks.
“Cambodia urges Thailand to immediately cease all hostile activities that threaten peace and stability in the region,” she said.
Neighboring Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for restraint in a statement posted on social media and said his country was ready to support efforts to avoid further fighting.
“Our region cannot afford to see long-standing conflicts turn into cycles of confrontation,” he wrote.
Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity dating back centuries, when they were warring empires.
Their modern territorial claims stem largely from a 1907 map drawn up when Cambodia was under French colonial rule, and which Thailand considers inaccurate.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice granted Cambodia sovereignty over an area that included the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which still angers many Thais.
The ceasefire does not specify a path forward to resolve the root of the conflict, namely the long-standing differences over the delineation of the border.
