Thai-Cambodia clashes spread along frontier as death toll rises

Samraong, Cambodia – Thailand and Cambodia pounded each other with heavy artillery fire for a third day on July 26, as a border conflict that has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 170,000 from their homes spread across the frontier.

Clashes broke out for the first time in the countries’ coastal regions where they meet on the Gulf of Thailand, around 250km south-west of the main front lines thumping with blasts on the afternoon of July 26.

“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.

Both sides say they are open to a truce in the combat being fought with jets, tanks and ground troops, but have accused the other of undermining armistice efforts.

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 coastline clash at around 5am (6am Singapore time), 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 were now confirmed killed in the fighting, comprising eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded.

The Thai authorities say 13 civilians and seven soldiers have been killed on their side, taking the toll across both nations higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.

The fighting has 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 a closed meeting of the UN 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 on July 26 that for any ceasefire or talks to proceed, 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,” he told reporters.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said on July 25, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia.

“We are ready, if Cambodia would like to settle this matter via diplomatic channels, bilaterally, or even through Malaysia, we are ready to do that. But so far we have not had any response,” Mr Nikorndej told AFP.

Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Asean regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members.

Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has warned that if the situation escalates, “it could develop into war”.

Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.

Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions.

At the UN, Cambodia’s envoy questioned Thailand’s assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbour, had initiated the conflict. “(The Security Council) called for both parties to (show) maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well,” Mr Chhea Keo said.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – still an influential figure in the kingdom – visited shelters on July 26 to meet evacuees.

“The military needs to complete its operations before any dialogue can take place,” he told reporters.

The 76-year-old said he had no plans to contact Mr Hun Sen, Cambodia’s powerful former prime minister who was long a close ally.

“His actions reflect a disturbed mindset. He should reflect on his conduct,” Thaksin said of Mr 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 800km 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 new clash.

Relations between the two countries soured dramatically when Mr Hun Sen in June released a recording of a call with suspended Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the border row.

The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Ms 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. AFP, BLOOMBERG