Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes as fighting between Thailand and Cambodia continued for a second day Friday.
Over 58,000 people fled their homes from four affected Thai border provinces and sought refuge in temporary shelters, the Thai Health Ministry said on Friday. Meanwhile, in Cambodia, local authorities said more than 4,000 were evacuated from areas near the border.
The two sides fired small arms, artillery and rockets at each other, which Thailand said killed one Thai soldier and 13 civilians and wounded at least 14 soldiers and 32 civilians. Cambodia reported its first death from the fighting on Friday.
Thailand has also launched airstrikes at Cambodia, reportedly involving one of its six US-made F-16 fighter jets.
Border tension between the two countries is not new, as the border dispute between the two countries started more than a century ago, following the end of France’s occupation of Cambodia.
However, renewed fighting erupted on Thursday following an incident in which five Thai soldiers were injured, including one who lost a leg, as a result of a landmine explosion.
Thailand had blamed Cambodia for placing new mines along paths that, by mutual agreement, were supposed to be safe. Cambodia rejected the allegations, claiming the mines were remnants of old wars and unrest.
Both the Thai Army and Cambodia’s Defence Ministry accused each other of deploying drones before advancing on the other’s positions and opening fire. The conflict then escalated with the use of heavier weapons, including artillery.
Thailand deployed F16 fighter jets and launched airstrikes in retaliation for Cambodia’s use of rockets, a move that Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura had called an “act of self-defence”.
Balankura emphasised that the government was prepared to intensify its self-defence measures “if Cambodia persists in its armed aggression and violations (of) Thailand’s sovereignty.”
Cambodian Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt Gen Maly Socheata said his country deployed armed forces because “it has no choice but to defend its territory against Thai threats” and insisted the “attacks were focused on the military places, not on any other place.”
The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting in New York on Friday after Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet requested the council to do so to “stop Thailand’s aggression”.
However, on Friday, Thailand rejected mediation efforts from third countries and instead urged Cambodia to engage in bilateral talks.
