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1News
19 hours ago
- 1News
Thailand and Cambodia trade fresh attacks as allies call for ceasefire
Thailand and Cambodia have traded accusations of fresh attacks as deadly border clashes entered a third day and international pressure mounted for a ceasefire. The fighting has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 168,000. Artillery and small arms fire were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials blamed each other for starting the clashes. Both countries recalled their ambassadors, and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia. Local authorities reported 12 new deaths on Saturday, bringing its toll to 13, while the Thai military said a soldier was killed, raising the number of dead to 20, mostly civilians. ADVERTISEMENT Cambodia's Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said that the clashes have forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations. Thai officials said more than 131,000 people have fled their border villages. The 800-kilometre frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions flared in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics. International allies call for peace On Saturday, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he has talked with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested he would not conclude a trade agreement with either country if the cross-border hostilities continued. He later said both sides have agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire. Officials from the two countries did not immediately confirm any plan to meet. ADVERTISEMENT Trump's comments followed increasing pressure on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to defuse the tensions between its two members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the UN. The Security Council called for a de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution. The council didn't issue a resolution on the crisis, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that the group's 15 members called for restraint, an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution. The leader of Malaysia, ASEAN's current chair, has said Thailand and Cambodia are open to a ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has tasked the country's foreign minister with mediating peace talks, but no concrete plans have been announced. Maris said earlier Saturday that his country has agreed in principle to ASEAN's ceasefire proposal, but insisted Cambodia must first cease hostilities. He said Thailand continues to engage with Malaysia on the matter. ADVERTISEMENT 'Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,' he said, urging Cambodia to 'return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.' Sides trade accusations and deny responsibility Cambodia's Defence Ministry condemned what it called an expanded Thai offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired into Pursat province. It said the attack was an "unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression.' Ministry spokesperson Lt Gen Maly Socheata said tensions flared in the coastal province of Koh Kong and expressed concern about the possibility of confrontations at sea. Maly Socheata said seven Cambodian civilians and five soldiers have been killed in two days of fighting. Another man was reportedly killed when a pagoda he was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets. The Thai army has denied targeting Cambodian civilians and accuses Phnom Penh of using 'human shields' by positioning their weapons near residential areas. ADVERTISEMENT In a statement Saturday, Thailand's navy accused Cambodian forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, which shares a border with Koh Kong, saying Thai forces responded swiftly and 'successfully pushed back the Cambodian incursion at three key points." The navy warned that 'aggression will not be tolerated.' Thai authorities also alleged that several Cambodian artillery shells damaged homes and property in neighbouring Laos. Laos officials have not publicly responded to the claim. Call to protect civilians amid claim of cluster bomb use Human Rights Watch urged the UN Security Council and other nations to press Thailand and Cambodia to abide by international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect civilians. Children have been harmed and Thailand has closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons, the rights group said in a statement Saturday. Both sides have fired rockets and artillery, and after initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson said Friday that such weapons can be utilized 'when necessary' to achieve military objectives. Human Rights Watch condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon. Thai authorities used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead. 'Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,' John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. 'Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritise protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.' Thai officials acknowledged it has used F-16 jets and drones to launch airstrikes.


NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Thailand, Cambodia agree in principle to ceasefire amid deadly conflict
It said Phumtham requested Trump to 'convey to the Cambodian side that Thailand wants to convene a bilateral dialogue as soon as possible to bring forth measures and procedures for the ceasefire and the eventual peaceful resolution of the conflict'. A woman who fled her home near the border between Cambodia and Thailand, sits on a hammock at a pagoda in Oddar Meanchey province. Photo / Tang Chhin Sothy, AFP Hours earlier, clashes broke out in the countries' coastal regions where they meet on the Gulf of Thailand, around 250km southwest of the main front lines, thumping with blasts on Saturday afternoon. 'It feels like I'm escaping a war zone,' 76-year-old Samlee Sornchai told AFP at a temple shelter for evacuees in the Thai town of Kanthararom, after abandoning his farm near the embattled frontier. A long-running border dispute erupted into combat this week with jets, tanks and ground troops. Tensions initially flared over long-contested ancient temple sites before fighting spread along the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice. 'Tragic and unnecessary' While each side has expressed openness to a truce, they have accused one another of undermining armistice efforts. 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. A pagoda damaged by Thai artillery is pictured in Oddar Meanchey province. Photo / AFP Thai authorities say 13 civilians and seven soldiers have died on their side, taking the toll across both nations higher than it was in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011. Both sides reported a coastline clash early Saturday, with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing 'five heavy artillery shells' into Pursat province, bordering Thailand's Trat province. The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, and more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia. After an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted 'an immediate ceasefire' and a peaceful solution of the dispute. Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province. Photo / Tang Chhin Sothy, AFP UN chief Antonio Guterres remained deeply concerned about the armed clashes and urged both sides Saturday to 'immediately agree to a ceasefire' and hold talks to find a lasting solution. 'The Secretary-General condemns the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives, injuries to civilians and the damage to homes and infrastructure on both sides,' his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. Scramble for dialogue Both sides have blamed the other for firing first. Additionally, Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells. 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 800km border where dozens of kilometres are contested. 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 border clash. Relations soured dramatically when Cambodia's influential ex-leader Hun Sen last month released a recording of a call with Thailand's then-Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the row. The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army. She was suspended from office by a court order. – Agence France-Presse


Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Thai-Cambodian fighting now in third day despite ceasefire calls
Fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border extended into a third day and new flashpoints emerged on Saturday as both sides sought diplomatic support, saying they had acted in self-defence and calling on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations. At least 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years. The Thai navy said there were clashes in the coastal province of Trat early on Saturday, a new front more than 100 km (60 miles) from other conflict points along the long-contested border. The two countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. Thailand's death toll remained at 19 on Saturday, while Cambodian Defence Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata said five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed in the the Kanthralak district of Thailand's Sisaket province, on the border near some of the clashes, hotel worker Chianuwat Thalalai said the town had emptied out. "Nearly everybody's gone, it's almost a deserted city," the 31-year-old told Reuters. "My hotel is still open for some of those nearer to the border area that needs a place to stay." Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting on Friday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July - claims Cambodia has strongly denied - and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning. "Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith," Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media. DECADES OF DISPUTES Cambodia's defence ministry said Thailand had launched "a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack" on Thursday, and was now mobilising troops and military equipment on the border. "These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Cambodia called for the international community to "condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms" and to prevent an expansion of Thailand's military activities. Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally, telling the Security Council it was "deeply regrettable that Cambodia has deliberately avoided meaningful dialogue and instead sought to internationalise the issue to serve its own political objectives". Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognised the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.