Malaysian PM Anwar calls for restraint between Thai and Cambodian militaries
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An injured soldier is transferred to a hospital following a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops over a disputed border area in Sisaket Province, Thailand.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Dec 8 urged Thailand and Cambodia to exercise restraint after conflict reignited between them, warning the fighting risked undoing the careful work that went into a ceasefire he helped to broker.
“We urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint, maintain open channels of communication and make full use of the mechanisms in place,” Datuk Seri Anwar, the chair of the regional grouping ASEAN, said in a post on social media platform X.
Thailand launched air strikes on its neighbour Cambodia on Dec 8,
After Cambodian troops fired on Thai forces early on the morning of Dec 8 in Ubon Ratchathani province, “the Army received reports that Thai soldiers were attacked with supporting fire weapons, resulting in one soldier killed and four wounded”, Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in a statement.
Mr Winthai also said Thailand had begun “using aircraft to strike military targets in several areas” to suppress attacks by Cambodian forces.
Cambodia’s Defence Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thai forces launched an attack on Cambodian troops in the border provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey early on the morning of Dec 8, accusing Thailand of “firing multiple shots with tanks at Tamone Thom temple” and other areas near Preah Vihear temple.
She said Cambodia did not retaliate.
Mr Met Measpheakdey, a Cambodian spokesman for the Oddar Meanchey provincial administration, said gunfire was reported in the areas of the centuries-old Tamone Thom and Ta Krabei temples, and a “number of villagers who live near the border are fleeing to safety”.
Thailand’s Second Army Region said in a statement that around 35,000 people in Thailand have been evacuated from areas along the border with Cambodia since the renewed fighting. THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
