BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH: Thailand has carried out aerial bombardments along its contested frontier with Cambodia, the Thai military said on Monday, after each nation accused the other of violating a ceasefire agreement arranged by U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to the Thai military, at least one Thai soldier was killed and four others injured in new fighting around two zones in the eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, after Thai troops reportedly came under Cambodian attack.
“The Thai side has now begun using aircraft to strike military targets in several areas,” the statement said.
Cambodia’s defence ministry stated that Thai forces had initiated early-morning assaults at two positions following what it described as days of provocation. It added that Cambodian troops had not returned fire.
Thailand’s army alleged that Cambodia’s military launched BM-21 rockets toward Thai civilian regions, though no casualties were reported.
CEASEFIRE BREAKDOWN
The border conflict escalated into five days of hostilities in July before a ceasefire was negotiated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Trump, who also observed the signing of a broader peace deal between the two sides in Kuala Lumpur in October.
During the July confrontations, at least 48 people were killed and an estimated 300,000 displaced, as both nations exchanged rocket fire and heavy artillery.
After a landmine explosion last month severely injured one of its soldiers, Thailand announced it was suspending its adherence to the ceasefire agreement with Cambodia.
Cambodia’s influential former longtime leader Hun Sen, father of current prime minister Hun Manet, accused Thailand’s military of being “aggressors” attempting to instigate a response and urged Cambodian troops to maintain discipline.
“The red line for responding has already been set. I urge commanders at all levels to educate all officers and soldiers accordingly,” Hun Sen said on Facebook, without further detail.
In Thailand, more than 385,000 civilians in four border districts are being moved to safety, with over 35,000 already placed in temporary shelters, according to the Thai military.
Thailand and Cambodia have disputed ownership of several undemarcated segments of their 817-km (508-mile) border for more than a century, originally charted in 1907 by colonial-era France when it governed Cambodia.
Tensions have repeatedly flared into violence such as the weeklong artillery exchanges in 2011 despite ongoing attempts to resolve overlapping territorial claims peacefully.
