Thai prime minister visits border with Cambodia after leaked conversation triggers resignation calls
Paetongtarn traveled to a border town in northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province, near a small contested territory with Cambodia where a brief confrontation between the two sides on May 28 killed one Cambodian soldier.
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Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
What's Behind the Deadly Thailand-Cambodia Border Clashes?
A long-simmering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalated to deadly violence on July 24 as their military forces clashed at multiple spots. Both sides have claimed the other was the aggressor when the fighting started in one of the contested areas, Prasat Ta Muen Thom. There were reports of gunfire and artillery shelling, and Thailand dispatched F-16 fighter jets to attack Cambodian army bases.
News24
an hour ago
- News24
9 dead as Thailand Cambodia tensions spill into violent conflict
Nine people were killed in border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. A Thai fighter jet bombed Cambodian targets. The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia. A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least nine civilians, including a child. 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 also closed its border with Cambodia. Cambodia's defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it 'strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia'. AFP 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 foreign ministry said Cambodian troops fired 'heavy artillery' on a Thai military base on Thursday morning and also targeted civilian areas including a hospital, leading to civilian casualties. '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,' the ministry said in a statement. READ | Snakes on a plane: India officials block smuggling of live snakes from Thailand Thai residents including children and the elderly ran to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires in the Surin border province. 'How many rounds have been fired? It's countless,' an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) while hiding in the shelter as gunfire and explosions were heard intermittently in the background. Cambodia's foreign ministry said Thailand's air strikes were 'unprovoked' and called on its neighbour to withdraw its forces and 'refrain from any further provocative actions that could escalate the situation'. For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various non-demarcated points along their 817km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong 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 border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360km east of the Thai capital Bangkok. Thailand's military said in a statement that nine people have been killed across three border provinces, including an 8-year-old boy in Surin. 'Artillery shell fell on people's homes,' Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told Reuters, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40 000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations. 'Two people have died,' he added. Video footage showed a plume of thick black smoke rising from a gas station in the neighbouring Thai Sisaket province, as firefighters rushed to extinguish the blaze. Six people were killed and 10 wounded at the site, the military said, adding another person was killed in the border province of Ubon Ratchathani. 'The Thai Army condemns Cambodia for using weapons to attack civilians in Thailand. Thailand is ready to protect sovereignty and our people from inhumane action,' it said in a statement. The military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the Ta Moan Thom temple. Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. 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. Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military. Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Thailand, Cambodia troops open fire on each other, killing at least 12
At least 12 people have died as violent clashes escalate along the Thailand-Cambodia border. Amid the rising tensions, Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia. One of Thailand's six F-16 fighter jets along its disputed border fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, according to Reuters, which cited the Thai army. The outlet added that Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense said the jets dropped two bombs on a road. The ministry said that it "strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia," according to Reuters. Late on Wednesday, Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia and announced it would expel the ambassador from Cambodia. On Thursday, Cambodia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Thailand to the lowest level and recalled all staff from its embassy in Bangkok, the Associated Press reported. Additionally, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry demanded all Thai diplomatic staff leave the country. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he would speak to the leaders of both countries by the end of the day, according to the BBC. Malaysia is currently serving as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), putting Ibrahim in a position to mediate, as both Cambodia and Thailand are member states. The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh advised American citizens living in or traveling near the border area to follow the directions of local security personnel. This comes almost exactly one month after both embassies warned U.S. citizens in their respective countries against going near the border. The State Department issued a "Level 1 with risk" travel advisory — just above the lowest level — urging Americans to exercise caution, though travel is permitted. While it is unclear how the latest clashes between Cambodia and Thailand began, the violence follows a dispute in May, during which troops from both sides exchanged fire. According to The Associated Press, both sides said they acted in self-defense and one Cambodian soldier was killed. Following the flare-up in May, both countries took retaliatory actions, with Thailand stopping nearly all border crossings before ultimately closing them entirely. Meanwhile, Cambodia banned Thai movies and TV.
