A Thai F-16 combatant pitchy bombed targets successful Cambodia connected Thursday, some sides said, arsenic weeks of hostility implicit a borderline quality escalated.
Str | Afp | Getty Images
A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets successful Cambodia connected Thursday, some sides said, arsenic weeks of hostility implicit a border dispute escalated into clashes that person killed astatine slightest 2 civilians.
Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy on the disputed border, 1 of the craft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a subject target, the Thai service said. Both countries accused each different of starting the clash early connected Thursday.
"We person utilized aerial power against military targets arsenic planned," Thai service lawman spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia.
Cambodia's defence ministry said the jets dropped 2 bombs connected a road, and that it "strongly condemns the reckless and brutal subject aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia".
The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia precocious connected Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia's envoy successful Bangkok, aft a 2nd Thai worker successful the abstraction of a week mislaid a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid precocious successful the disputed area.
Thai residents successful the Surin border province fled to shelters built of factual and fortified with sandbags and car tires arsenic the 2 countries exchanged fire.
"How galore rounds person been fired? It's countless," an unidentified pistillate told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) portion hiding successful the structure with gunfire and explosions heard intermittently successful the background.
For much than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at assorted un-demarcated points on their 817 km (508 miles) land border, which has led to skirmishes implicit respective years and astatine slightest a twelve deaths, including during a weeklong speech of artillery successful 2011.
Tensions were reignited successful May pursuing the sidesplitting of a Cambodian soldier during a little speech of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic situation and present has triggered armed clashes.
Landmines
The clashes began aboriginal connected Thursday adjacent the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple on the eastern border between Cambodia and Thailand, astir 360 km from the Thai superior Bangkok.
"Artillery ammunition fell connected people's homes," Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, territory main of Kabcheing successful Surin province, told Reuters, describing the firing by the Cambodian side.
"Two radical person died," helium said, adding that territory authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages adjacent the border to safer locations.
Thailand's subject said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone earlier sending troops with dense weapons to an country adjacent the temple.
Cambodian troops opened occurrence and 2 Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai service spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had utilized aggregate weapons, including rocket launchers.
A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry, however, said determination had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded successful self-defense.
Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the concern was delicate.
"We person to beryllium careful," helium told reporters. "We volition travel planetary law."
An effort by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resoluteness the caller tensions via a telephone with Cambodia's influential erstwhile Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked disconnected a governmental tempest in Thailand, starring to her suspension by a court.
Hun Sen said successful a Facebook station that two Cambodian provinces had travel nether shelling from the Thai military.
Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines successful a disputed country that injured 3 soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the assertion and said the soldiers had veered disconnected agreed routes and triggered a excavation near down from decades of war.
Cambodia has galore landmines near implicit from its civilian warfare decades ago, numbering successful the millions according to de-mining groups.
But Thailand maintains landmines person been placed astatine the border area recently, which Cambodia has described arsenic baseless allegations.
English (US) ·