Fighting rages along Cambodia-Thailand border ahead of expected Trump call

SURIN, Thailand – Fighting continued on Dec 11 along the border of Cambodia and Thailand, with explosions heard near centuries-old temples ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned phone call to the leaders of both nations.

At least 20 people have been killed in the latest round of border clashes that reignited last week, officials said.

Around 600,000 people, mostly in Thailand, have fled border areas near where jets, tanks and drones have waged battle.

The countries dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km-long frontier, where both sides claim a smattering of historic temples.

This week’s clashes

are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, following intervention by Mr Trump.

He said he

expected to speak

on Dec 11

to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to demand a halt to the fighting.

“I found they were two great leaders, two great people, and I’ve settled it once,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House on Dec 10.

“I think I can get them to stop fighting,” he said.

Speaking to journalists on Dec 11, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said there had been “no coordination” yet with Mr Trump.

“But if there’s a call from the US President, we definitely will answer the phone,” Mr Anutin said.

“This is an issue between two countries. He has good intentions to see peace, but we have to explain what the problems are and why it turned out this way.”

Life ‘paused’

Both sides blame the other for reigniting the conflict, which has spread to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP tally of official accounts.

In Thailand’s north-east on Dec 11, hundreds of evacuated families woke up inside a university building in Surin city that has been converted into a shelter.

A few women pounded chilli paste while volunteers stirred large pots of food.

Nearby, 61-year-old farmer Rat, who declined to give her last name, said she had to leave her home before she could plant a cassava crop this season, fleeing with her family of eight.

“I just want to go home and farm again,” she said. “Every time the fighting starts, it feels like life gets paused all over again.”

Nine Thai soldiers have been killed this week and more than 120 wounded, Thai Defence Ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri told reporters on Dec 11, adding that “the operation is still ongoing across the border”.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry has reported 11 civilian deaths and dozens wounded.

Under a makeshift tent on the grounds of a pagoda in northern Cambodia’s Srei Snam, 88-year-old Chae Yeang said she wanted her peace of mind back.

“I don’t want this war to continue,” she said after evacuating from her home closer to the border.

“I just want it to end and to have peace tomorrow,” she added.

Outgunned

AFP journalists in Cambodia’s north-western Oddar Meanchey province heard blasts of incoming artillery from the direction of disputed temples from dawn.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that Thai forces launched an attack early on Dec 11 in the province, “shelling into the Khnar Temple area”.

Cambodia is vastly outgunned and outspent by Thailand, according to available data on military hardware and expenditures.

And the Thai military has hundreds more jets, armoured fighting vehicles and other heavy armaments in its inventory, compared with the forces of its smaller neighbour, data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies showed.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said more than 192,000 people have been evacuated, while the Thai authorities reported that over 400,000 civilians have taken shelter elsewhere.

The US, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional grouping Asean,

brokered a ceasefire in July

.

In October, Mr Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration, touting trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their truce. But Thailand

suspended the agreement

in November, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines at the border.

Disputed temples

The United Nations cultural agency called on Dec 10 for “

protection of the region’s cultural heritage in all its forms

”.

It noted hostilities near the Temple of Preah Vihear, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Phnom Penh has said Thai bombardments had caused damage.

In 2008, military clashes between Thailand and Cambodia erupted over a patch of land next to the 900-year-old temple, located on the border.

In the current hostilities, Cambodia also reported damage at another contested border temple, Ta Krabey, which Thailand calls Ta Khwai. AFP