Thailand Reports 11 Civilian Deaths as Border Tensions with Cambodia Intensify

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Thai and Cambodian troops have clashed near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple in Cambodia.
A Thai F-16 fighter jet has since bombed targets in Cambodia, with the latter condemning its “military aggression”.
Thailand’s health minister said 11 civilians and one soldier were killed in artillery shelling by Cambodian forces.

Eleven Thai civilians are dead after Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire in a sharp escalation of their conflict over a disputed border area.

A Thai F-16 fighter jet has also bombed targets in Cambodia as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes.

Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said.

Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday.

“We have used air power against military targets as planned,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters.

Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia.

Cambodia’s defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, condemning Thailand’s “reckless and brutal military aggression” and saying its airstrikes were “unprovoked”.

It accused its neighbour of opening fire on its troops and violating an agreement designed to de-escalate tension, calling on it to withdraw its forces and “refrain from any further provocative actions that could escalate the situation”.

A large building that reads "Royal Thai Embassy".

The clashes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok. Source: AAP / EPA/Kith Serey

The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area.

Thailand’s health minister said 11 civilians, including a child, and one soldier were killed in artillery shelling by Cambodian forces while 24 civilians and seven military personnel were wounded. There was no immediate word of casualties in Cambodia.

“The Royal Thai government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty,” Thailand’s ministry said in a statement.

Thai residents in the Surin border province fled to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires as the two countries exchanged fire.

Clashes took place near disputed temple

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a week-long exchange of artillery in 2011.

Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes.

The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border between Thailand and Cambodia, around 360km from the Thai capital Bangkok.

A large vehicle with a rocket launcher driving on a dirt road.

A Cambodian BM-21 multiple rocket launcher returns from the Cambodia-Thai border. Source: AFP / STR

Thailand’s military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple.

A spokesperson for Cambodia’s defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. “We have to be careful,” he told reporters. “We will follow international law.”

An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia’s influential former prime minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court.