Thailand Launches Air Strikes After Border Clash with Cambodia Kills Soldier

BANGKOK, Dec 8 — Thailand launched air strikes against neighbouring Cambodia today, the Thai army said, as both sides exchanged accusations over the latest flare-up of fighting along their disputed border that left a Thai soldier dead.

Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said Cambodian troops opened fire on Thai forces early this morning 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,” he said.

Winthai added that Thailand had begun “using aircraft to strike military targets in several areas” to suppress attacks by Cambodian forces.

However, Cambodia’s defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata accused Thai forces of initiating the attack in the border provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey early Monday morning. She alleged that Thailand fired multiple tank rounds at the Tamone Thom temple and other areas near the Preah Vihear temple, adding that Cambodia did not retaliate.

Cambodian provincial spokesman Met Measpheakdey said gunfire was reported near the centuries-old Tamone Thom and Ta Krabei temples, and that a number of villagers living near the border had fled to safety.

Thailand’s Second Army Region said about 35,000 people on the Thai side of the border have been evacuated since the renewed fighting began. The Thai army also accused Cambodian forces of firing BM-21 rockets toward civilian areas in Buri Ram province, although no casualties were reported.

Both sides had earlier reported a brief skirmish on Sunday, which Thailand’s military said left two soldiers wounded.

The two neighbours experienced five days of clashes earlier this year, which killed 43 people and displaced about 300,000 before a truce was reached. The ceasefire was brokered in part by the United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc Asean.

In October, US President Donald Trump co-signed a joint follow-up declaration between Thailand and Cambodia to extend the ceasefire, alongside new trade agreements. However, Thailand suspended the deal last month after an alleged landmine blast wounded several Thai soldiers, followed by renewed accusations of border clashes in which Phnom Penh said a civilian was killed.

The long-running dispute stems from a century-old disagreement over borders mapped during French colonial rule, with both sides laying claim to several temple sites along the boundary. — AFP