New clashes as Cambodia, Thailand hold first talks to end latest violence

Injuries reported successful ongoing unit connected some sides of the borderline up of negotiations implicit the renewed fighting.

Thailand and Cambodia person reported caller warring successful their ongoing borderline conflict, arsenic the archetypal talks betwixt the sides since the latest outbreak of unit get nether way.

Thailand’s subject said connected Wednesday that determination had been clashes successful the borderline provinces of Sisaket and Surin, Thai media reported, with Thai forces responding to Cambodian BM-21 rocket attacks with artillery, vessel occurrence and drones.

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One Thai worker was injured successful the Pha Mo I Daeng–Huai Ta Maria country of Sisaket province, the Thai service said, earlier Thai forces returned fire, striking much than 19 Cambodian subject targets.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said Thai forces had carried retired aerial attacks connected Banan territory successful the northwestern borderline state of Battambang, hitting a civilian residential country with 4 bombs.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Education besides released a video showing what it said were scenes of panic astatine a schoolhouse successful the province, with students fleeing arsenic the aerial raid was carried out.

Further, the ministry said 2 civilians had been injured by Thai shelling successful Banteay Meanchey province, the Khmer Times reported.

Talks begin

The latest warring came conscionable earlier a gathering of defence officials began connected Wednesday. The talks are the archetypal betwixt the sides since renewed clashes broke retired connected December 7, sidesplitting much than 40 radical and displacing astir a million, according to authoritative counts.

The 2 sides agreed connected Monday to clasp the talks successful Thailand’s Chanthaburi, wrong the model of an existing bilateral borderline committee, the Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee, pursuing a determination propulsion to extremity the fighting.

Thailand and Cambodia person engaged successful regular exchanges of rocket and artillery occurrence on their 817km (508-mile) onshore borderline pursuing the illness earlier this period of a truce brokered by the United States and Malaysia that enactment an extremity to 5 days of warring successful July.

The struggle stems from a territorial quality implicit the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) borderline and a smattering of past temple ruins situated connected the frontier.

Each broadside has blamed the different for instigating the renewed fighting, claiming self-defence, portion trading accusations of attacks connected civilians.

Thailand accused of demolishing Hindu statue

Meanwhile, a Cambodian authoritative has accused Thailand of destroying a Hindu statue successful a disputed borderline area, condemning the demolition of items of spiritual significance.

Kim Chanpanha, a authorities spokesperson successful the borderline state of Preah Vihear, said the statue of Vishnu, built successful 2014, was demolished by Thai forces connected Monday.

“We condemn the demolition of past temples and statues that are worshipped by Buddhist and Hindu followers,” Chanpanha said.

Videos showing the demolition of the statue utilizing a backhoe loader circulated connected societal media.

The Thai subject has not commented connected the incident, but released a connection rejecting Cambodian claims that it was utilizing clump munitions intended to harm civilians.

The connection said its clump munitions were dual-purpose artillery shells utilized against subject targets, successful enactment with the principles of “military necessity” and “proportionality”.

It added that the Convention connected Cluster Munitions (CCM), which prohibits signatories from utilizing specified weapons, was not applicable arsenic neither Thailand nor Cambodia was a enactment to the agreement.