Death toll rises in Thai-Cambodian clashes despite ceasefire call
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday.
AFP journalists in the Cambodian town of Samraong, near the border that has seen the bulk of the fighting, heard the thump of artillery early Saturday afternoon.
A Thai villager reached by phone as he sheltered in a bunker in Sisaket province, just 10 kilometres from the frontier, also reported hearing artillery.
"I just want this to end as soon as possible," Sutian Phiewchan told AFP.
Tensions initially flared over long-contested ancient temple sites, but fighting has spread along the neighbours' rural frontier region, marked by a ridge of forest-clad hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.
Both sides reported a clash on the coastline about 250 kilometres southwest of the main front lines at around 5:00 am Saturday, with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing "five heavy artillery shells" into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand's Trat province.
Cambodia's defence ministry said 13 people have been confirmed killed in the fighting since Thursday, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded.
Thai authorities say 13 civilians and seven soldiers have been killed on their side, taking the toll across both nations higher than it was in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.
The conflict has also forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia.
After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire.
"Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire, unconditionally, and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," he told reporters.
Border row
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that for any ceasefire or talks to precede, Cambodia needed to show "genuine sincerity in ending the conflict".
"I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue," Maris told reporters.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said Friday, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia.
Malaysia currently holds the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members.
Both sides have blamed the other for firing first.
And Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station struck by at least one rocket.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, still an influential figure in the kingdom, visited shelters on Saturday to meet evacuees.
"The military needs to complete its operations before any dialogue can take place," Thaksin told reporters.
The 76-year-old said he had no plans to contact Hun Sen, Cambodia's powerful ex-prime minister who was long a close ally.
"His actions reflect a disturbed mindset. He should reflect on his conduct," Thaksin said of Hun Sen.
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours, both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists, over their shared 800-kilometre border.
Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash on the border.
Relations between the two countries soured dramatically when Hun Sen last month released a recording of a call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the border row.
The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn , Thaksin's daughter , was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army.
She was suspended from office by a court order.
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