Despite appeals from the region and beyond for an immediate truce in an escalating border battle that has killed at least 16 people, Thailand and Cambodia engaged in heavy artillery fire on Friday as their bloodiest fighting in almost ten years continued for a second day.
Thailand’s military claimed Cambodia had employed artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket systems in predawn attacks in the provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Surin. On the Thai side, authorities reported that 100,000 people had been evacuated from fighting areas.
The Thai military claimed in a statement that “Cambodian forces have conducted sustained bombardment utilising heavy weapons, field artillery, and BM-21 rocket systems.”
“Thai forces have responded with appropriate supporting fire in accordance with the tactical situation.”
The clashes, which began Thursday at a disputed border area and swiftly progressed from small arms fire to heavy shelling in at least six spots 209 kilometers (130 miles) apart along a frontier where ownership has been challenged for more than a century, were attributed by both sides to one another.
With armed Thai soldiers heavily stationed around roads and gas stations in the primarily agricultural region, Reuters journalists in Surin province reported hearing frequent explosions on Friday.
Across provincial roads surrounded by rice fields, a Thai military convoy including around a dozen trucks, cars with armor, and tanks advanced toward the border.
The disagreement, which began Thursday at a disputed border area and swiftly progressed from small arms fire to heavy shelling in at least six spots 209 kilometers (130 miles) apart along a frontier where ownership has been challenged for more than a century, was blamed by both sides on one another.
With armed Thai soldiers heavily stationed around roads and gas stations in the primarily agricultural region, Reuters journalists in Surin province reported hearing frequent explosions on Friday.
Across provincial roads surrounded by rice fields, a Thai military convoy including around a dozen trucks, cars with armor, and tanks advanced toward the border.
Hours after Thailand removed Cambodia’s envoy and withdrew its ambassador to Phnom Penh the night before, after a second Thai soldier lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok claimed had been planted recently by rival forces, violence broke out on Thursday. Cambodia has rejected that as unfounded.
RISING DEATH TOLLS
As of early Friday, the health ministry reported that 15 Thai people had died, 14 of them civilians. According to the report, 15 soldiers were among the 46 injured.
The national government of Cambodia has not disclosed any information regarding civilian evacuations or casualties. A request for comment on the most recent skirmishes was not immediately answered by a government official.
Meth Meas Pheakdey, a spokesman for the Oddar Meanchey province of Cambodia’s provincial administration, reported that 1,500 families had been evacuated and that one civilian had been killed and five injured.
One of Thailand’s six F-16 fighter jets was used to hit a military target in Cambodia as part of what Cambodia described as “reckless and brutal military aggression” on Thursday.
The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies claims that Thailand’s F-16 usage highlights its military edge over Cambodia, which lacks fighter aircraft and has much less defense equipment and manpower.
Thailand’s longstanding treaty ally, the United States, demanded a “immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, and a peaceful resolution.”
Thailand and Cambodia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose chair is Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He stated he had spoken to the leaders of both nations and urged them to find a peaceful solution.
“I appreciate Bangkok and Phnom Penh’s encouraging signs and readiness to take this course of action into consideration. Late on Thursday, he posted on social media, “In the spirit of ASEAN unity and shared responsibility, Malaysia stands ready to assist and facilitate this process.”
