Thailand Says Over 100,000 Civilians Flee as Fighting With Cambodia Escalates Along Disputed Border
Bangkok reports fourteen dead on the Thai side; Cambodia confirms one civilian killed and five injured as both countries exchange fire with jets, artillery, tanks, and ground troops
More than one hundred thousand people from four Thai border provinces have been moved to nearly three hundred temporary shelters after the bloodiest clashes with Cambodia in a decade, Thailand’s interior ministry said.
Thailand’s health ministry reported fourteen fatalities — thirteen civilians and one soldier — while Cambodian authorities said at least one civilian was killed and five others were injured.
Around one thousand five hundred Cambodian families from Banteay Ampil district in Oddar Meanchey province have been evacuated, according to local officials.
The latest fighting began on Thursday across multiple locations, including areas around two ancient temples, and involved the use of fighter jets, artillery, tanks, and ground troops.
The Thai army said it scrambled F-sixteen aircraft to strike military targets, while both sides accused each other of firing first.
Thailand alleged that Cambodian fire hit civilian infrastructure, including a hospital and a petrol station.
Reporters in the Cambodian town of Samraong, about twenty kilometres from the frontier, heard artillery on Friday morning, prompting additional civilian evacuations.
Diplomatic ties deteriorated rapidly.
Hours before the escalation, Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its envoy after five Thai soldiers were wounded by a landmine.
Cambodia downgraded relations to the lowest level, withdrawing all but one of its diplomats and expelling Thai counterparts.
At the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to convene an emergency meeting on the crisis.
The confrontation revives a long-running dispute over sections of the neighbours’ roughly eight hundred-kilometre border.
Between two thousand eight and two thousand eleven, clashes left at least twenty-eight people dead and displaced tens of thousands.
In two thousand thirteen, the International Court of Justice issued a ruling intended to settle part of the disagreement, but tensions resurfaced in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief exchange of fire near the frontier.
International partners called for restraint.
The United States urged an immediate halt to hostilities, while France, the European Union, and China said they were deeply concerned and called for dialogue.
Thai authorities said the current round of fighting on Thursday centred on six locations and that ground operations continued in areas adjacent to contested historical sites.
Thailand’s health ministry reported fourteen fatalities — thirteen civilians and one soldier — while Cambodian authorities said at least one civilian was killed and five others were injured.
Around one thousand five hundred Cambodian families from Banteay Ampil district in Oddar Meanchey province have been evacuated, according to local officials.
The latest fighting began on Thursday across multiple locations, including areas around two ancient temples, and involved the use of fighter jets, artillery, tanks, and ground troops.
The Thai army said it scrambled F-sixteen aircraft to strike military targets, while both sides accused each other of firing first.
Thailand alleged that Cambodian fire hit civilian infrastructure, including a hospital and a petrol station.
Reporters in the Cambodian town of Samraong, about twenty kilometres from the frontier, heard artillery on Friday morning, prompting additional civilian evacuations.
Diplomatic ties deteriorated rapidly.
Hours before the escalation, Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its envoy after five Thai soldiers were wounded by a landmine.
Cambodia downgraded relations to the lowest level, withdrawing all but one of its diplomats and expelling Thai counterparts.
At the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to convene an emergency meeting on the crisis.
The confrontation revives a long-running dispute over sections of the neighbours’ roughly eight hundred-kilometre border.
Between two thousand eight and two thousand eleven, clashes left at least twenty-eight people dead and displaced tens of thousands.
In two thousand thirteen, the International Court of Justice issued a ruling intended to settle part of the disagreement, but tensions resurfaced in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief exchange of fire near the frontier.
International partners called for restraint.
The United States urged an immediate halt to hostilities, while France, the European Union, and China said they were deeply concerned and called for dialogue.
Thai authorities said the current round of fighting on Thursday centred on six locations and that ground operations continued in areas adjacent to contested historical sites.
