Bangkok – Thai and Cambodian soldiers on Thursday clashed with their boundary in a major part of their struggle in several areas, with at least 11 people killed, mostly citizens. Both sides fired small arms, artillery and rockets, and Thailand was also invited to an air strike.
Thai villagers could be seen running away from their homes on the video so that morning clashes started.
There was a fight in at least six areas with Seema, a Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Sursant Kongsiri. The trigger for clashes was a mine explosion along the border on Wednesday that injured five Thai soldiers and bangs his ambassador to Bangkok and expelled Cambodia.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said that all land border crossings with Cambodia were sealed and the communities near the border were vacated. This urged all Thai citizens to leave Cambodia.
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Southeast Asian neighbors have long border disputes that flare up from time to time with a range of 500 miles and usually have brief collisions that sometimes involve exchange of bullets. But the ties have deteriorated rapidly since the confrontation in May, killing a Cambodian soldier, and Thursday’s clashes were much larger than normal.
The US embassy in Thailand referred to the battle reports of the fight, including the rocket and artillery fire between the Cambodian and the Thai forces, “and said that the Thai government was” ordering the evacuation of some areas “.
“American citizens should stay or travel near Thailand-Kambodia border or follow the direction from Thai security services and consult local government officials for the latest information,” Embassy said,
The first clash of Thursday morning took place in an area near the ancient Ta Mun Thom Temple along the border of Surin province of Thailand and Audar Meenche Province in Cambodia.
In a video of the Thai side, people were shown running from their homes and hiding in a solid bunker.
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The Thai Army said its forces heard six armed Cambodian soldiers heard a drone before going close to Thai military positions on the border. It said that Thai soldiers tried to shout at them to reduce the situation, but the Cambodian side started opening the fire.
However, Cambodia’s Defense Ministry stated that Thailand deployed a drone first before opening the fire, and that Cambodia “worked strictly within the limits of self -defense, responded to an unsafe disorder by Thai soldiers, which violated our regional integrity.”
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to the current Chairman of the United Nations Security Council that “for an immediate meeting to prevent Thailand’s aggression.”
The Thai army stated that it later launched airstrikes on military goals in Cambodia, while the Cambodian Ministry of Defense said that Thai Jets demolished bombs on a road near the ancient Prehe Vihier Temple, which had been some of the most prominent and violent previous struggles among countries.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry accused Cambodia of assaulting both military and non-living sites in Thailand, including a hospital.
Ministry spokesman Nicordej Balanakura said, “The Royal Thai government is ready to accelerate our self -defense measures, if Cambodia remains in its armed attack and violates Thailand’s sovereignty according to international laws and principles,” said Nicordez Balankura, a spokesman of the ministry.
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Acting Thai Prime Minister Fummtham Vichachai said that 11 people have been killed, including 10 civilians and one soldiers. Meanwhile, 28 have been injured, out of which four were soldiers and the rest were citizens.
Cambodia did not release any details on his behalf deaths or injuries.
On Wednesday, Thailand withdrew its ambassador to Cambodia and expelled the Cambodian ambassador to protest the mine explosion that injured their soldiers.
Thai officials alleged that the mines were placed along the routes on which the two sides agreed to be safe. He said that the mines were Russian -made and not a type of employed by Thailand’s army.
Cambodia dismissed Thailand’s account as “baseless allegations”, stating that several unexplained mines and other ordinances are legitimate inheritance of the 20th -century wars and unrest.
Cambodia also reduced diplomatic relations, remembering all Cambodian employees from their embassy in Bangkok on Thursday.
The border dispute in May resulted in the death of a Cambodian soldier, Thailand declined in Thailand. Prime Minister Patongtern Shinavatra came into fire when he tried to save the situation when he got very high in a phone call with his Cambodian counterpart. Since then, he has been suspended from the pending office pending an investigation into a violation of potential morality on the case.