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New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
What to Know About the Deadly Clash Between Thailand and Cambodia
Cambodia and Thailand exchanged fire along their contested border on Thursday, bringing relations between the two Southeast Asian countries to the lowest point in decades. Thailand said that at least 11 civilians and one soldier had been killed. Tensions at the Thai-Cambodian border have been rising for months, contributing to a brewing political crisis in Thailand that helped lead to the suspension of the prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, this month. Here are live updates. What happened on Thursday? Shots were heard early on Thursday morning near Prasat Ta Muen Thom, an ancient temple on the Thai side of the border. The countries have long sparred over the ownership of the temple. Each nation accuses the other of firing first. The Thai army ordered an immediate evacuation of a border area in Surin Province, and said it had sent F-16 fighter jets to strike targets in Cambodia. How many people have died? Thai officials said that 11 civilians and one soldier were killed in the clashes and at least 31 people were injured, including a 5-year-old boy. Thousands of residents have begun evacuating from the area. What is the context for these clashes? Longstanding tensions between the countries began to escalate in late May after a skirmish between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border, which led to the death of a Cambodian soldier. On Wednesday, a Thai soldier lost his leg when a land mine exploded near the border. Thailand then said that it would downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia, recalling its ambassador to the country and expelling Cambodia's ambassador. What is the history of the broader conflict? The two countries have had occasional military clashes and nationalist rivalries for hundreds of years. The border disputes can be traced back to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The two countries interpret the map differently. Here is a timeline of the tensions. Military fighting has broken out intermittently since 2008, but the last time that a major clash turned deadly was in 2011. In that year, about a week of fighting in disputed territory killed at least 15 people, including civilians, and displaced tens of thousands of civilians. The fighting focused on a jungle border area that included ancient temples both sides had laid claim to.
Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Cambodia fires rockets and Thailand scrambles jets in border clashes
Cambodia fired rockets and Thailand scrambled warplanes as the two countries clashed over mines in a disputed border area. A Cambodian artillery strike also killed a Thai civilian on Thursday, according to the office of Thailand's prime minister. It said: 'A Cambodian artillery shell hit a Thai civilian's home, killing one, with a five-year-old child critically injured and two others wounded.' Weeks of simmering tension broke out into gunfire in a contested border area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples. A livestream from Thailand's side showed people running from their homes and hiding in a concrete bunker on Thursday morning as explosions sounded. The Thai army said a Cambodian rocket strike wounded three civilians and that it had deployed F-16 fighter jets for action against the Cambodian military. It condemned the strike as a 'targeted attack on civilians' by Cambodian forces, saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a community in Surin province's Kap Choeng district along the border between the two southeast Asian neighbours. Thai F-16 jets carried out airstrikes on two military targets in Cambodia, the Thai army said. Six jets were deployed from Ubon Ratchathani province, hitting two 'Cambodian military targets on the ground', according to Ritcha Suksuwanon, the deputy spokesperson of the Thai army. Both Thailand and Cambodia accused each other of opening fire first. The clashes took place in an area where the ancient Prasat Ta Muen Thom temple stands along the border of Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province. Thailand closed its northeastern border crossings with Cambodia, withdrew its ambassador and expelled the Cambodian ambassador on Wednesday, protesting a land mine blast that wounded five Thai soldiers, one of whom lost a leg. In response, Cambodia expelled the Thai ambassador and recalled all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok. Diplomatic relations between the neighbours have deteriorated since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an armed confrontation in another of the several small patches of land both countries claim as their territory. The Thai army said Thursday's clash started when its forces heard an unmanned aerial vehicle before seeing six armed Cambodian soldiers moving closer to Thailand's station. It added that its soldiers tried to defuse the situation, but that the Cambodian side started to open fire. Cambodia's defence ministry said the country 'acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity'. A week before the five Thai soldiers were injured, three Thai soldiers were wounded when a land mine exploded in a different contested area. Thailand has alleged the mines were newly laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe. Cambodia rejected the claims as 'baseless accusations' pointing out that many unexploded ordinances are a legacy of 20th-century wars.
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Shots fired, landmine explosions as relations break down between Thailand and Cambodia
FacebookTweetLink Shots were fired as Thai and Cambodian forces clashed on Thursday in a disputed area of their border, according to military officials, a day after a Thai soldier lost his leg in a landmine explosion. The latest incidents have inflamed tensions between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, with a long-running border dispute now threatening to escalate into a broader conflict, and relations collapsing to their lowest level in years. On Thursday, Thailand's military accused Cambodian troops of firing at a Thai army base in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom Temple – which lies in disputed territory in the south of Thailand's Surin province and in Cambodia's northwest. It said Cambodia had deployed an unmanned drone in front of the temple before sending troops in with weapons. 'Six armed Cambodian soldiers, including those carrying RPGs, were seen approaching the barbed wire area in front of the Thai operational base,' the military said in the statement. A Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson said their troops had acted in self-defense after an unprovoked incursion from Thai soldiers. 'Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,' Lieutenant General Maly Socheata said. Thailand's Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Narkphanit told reporters Thursday that operations were 'currently ongoing,' citing preliminary reports from the border. At least two Thai soldiers were injured on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing a Thai army official. Two hospitals in Thailand's Surin province near the site of the clash have begun evacuating patients, according to Thailand's ministry of public health. The armed clash comes a day after a second Thai solider in a week lost his leg to a landmine explosion at a different point along the disputed border. Five Thai soldiers were injured in the explosion, with the incident prompting Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Cambodia – recalling its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelling the Cambodian ambassador. Thailand also closed parts of its northeastern border to locals and tourists. In response, Cambodia announced it has downgraded relations with Thailand 'to the lowest level' and ordered all diplomatic staff to return home. Tensions between the two neighbors had already soured in May, when a Cambodian solider was killed during a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops in which both sides opened fire in a contested border area of the Emerald Triangle, where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. The dispute has since had major political consequences for Thailand and stoked nationalist fervour in both countries. Thailand's former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from duties earlier this month and could face dismissal after the leak of a phone call she had with Cambodia's powerful former leader in which she appeared to criticize her own army's actions in the dispute. This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Shots fired, landmine explosions as relations break down between Thailand and Cambodia
Shots were fired as Thai and Cambodian forces clashed on Thursday in a disputed area of their border, according to military officials, a day after a Thai soldier lost his leg in a landmine explosion. The latest incidents have inflamed tensions between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, with a long-running border dispute now threatening to escalate into a broader conflict, and relations collapsing to their lowest level in years. On Thursday, Thailand's military accused Cambodian troops of firing at a Thai army base in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom Temple – which lies in disputed territory in the south of Thailand's Surin province and in Cambodia's northwest. It said Cambodia had deployed an unmanned drone in front of the temple before sending troops in with weapons. 'Six armed Cambodian soldiers, including those carrying RPGs, were seen approaching the barbed wire area in front of the Thai operational base,' the military said in the statement. A Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson said their troops had acted in self-defense after an unprovoked incursion from Thai soldiers. 'Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,' Lieutenant General Maly Socheata said. Thailand's Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Narkphanit told reporters Thursday that operations were 'currently ongoing,' citing preliminary reports from the border. At least two Thai soldiers were injured on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing a Thai army official. Two hospitals in Thailand's Surin province near the site of the clash have begun evacuating patients, according to Thailand's ministry of public health. The armed clash comes a day after a second Thai solider in a week lost his leg to a landmine explosion at a different point along the disputed border. Five Thai soldiers were injured in the explosion, with the incident prompting Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Cambodia – recalling its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelling the Cambodian ambassador. Thailand also closed parts of its northeastern border to locals and tourists. In response, Cambodia announced it has downgraded relations with Thailand 'to the lowest level' and ordered all diplomatic staff to return home. Tensions between the two neighbors had already soured in May, when a Cambodian solider was killed during a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops in which both sides opened fire in a contested border area of the Emerald Triangle, where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. The dispute has since had major political consequences for Thailand and stoked nationalist fervour in both countries. Thailand's former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from duties earlier this month and could face dismissal after the leak of a phone call she had with Cambodia's powerful former leader in which she appeared to criticize her own army's actions in the dispute. This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Shots fired, landmine explosions as relations break down between Thailand and Cambodia
Shots were fired as Thai and Cambodian forces clashed on Thursday in a disputed area of their border, according to military officials, a day after a Thai soldier lost his leg in a landmine explosion. The latest incidents have inflamed tensions between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, with a long-running border dispute now threatening to escalate into a broader conflict, and relations collapsing to their lowest level in years. On Thursday, Thailand's military accused Cambodian troops of firing at a Thai army base in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom Temple – which lies in disputed territory in the south of Thailand's Surin province and in Cambodia's northwest. It said Cambodia had deployed an unmanned drone in front of the temple before sending troops in with weapons. 'Six armed Cambodian soldiers, including those carrying RPGs, were seen approaching the barbed wire area in front of the Thai operational base,' the military said in the statement. A Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson said their troops had acted in self-defense after an unprovoked incursion from Thai soldiers. 'Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,' Lieutenant General Maly Socheata said. Thailand's Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Narkphanit told reporters Thursday that operations were 'currently ongoing,' citing preliminary reports from the border. At least two Thai soldiers were injured on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing a Thai army official. Two hospitals in Thailand's Surin province near the site of the clash have begun evacuating patients, according to Thailand's ministry of public health. The armed clash comes a day after a second Thai solider in a week lost his leg to a landmine explosion at a different point along the disputed border. Five Thai soldiers were injured in the explosion, with the incident prompting Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Cambodia – recalling its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelling the Cambodian ambassador. Thailand also closed parts of its northeastern border to locals and tourists. In response, Cambodia announced it has downgraded relations with Thailand 'to the lowest level' and ordered all diplomatic staff to return home. Tensions between the two neighbors had already soured in May, when a Cambodian solider was killed during a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops in which both sides opened fire in a contested border area of the Emerald Triangle, where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. The dispute has since had major political consequences for Thailand and stoked nationalist fervour in both countries. Thailand's former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from duties earlier this month and could face dismissal after the leak of a phone call she had with Cambodia's powerful former leader in which she appeared to criticize her own army's actions in the dispute. This is a developing story and will be updated.
