Thailand deploys fighter jets to escalate border dispute with Cambodia, killing at least 12

Both sides said Thailand’s F-16 fighter jets bombed targets in Cambodia as tensions escalated into conflict on Thursday, killing at least 12 people, including 11 civilians.

Thai troops said one of the six F-16 fighters in Thailand prepared to deploy on the disputed border was fired at Cambodia and destroyed military targets. The two countries alleged that they began clashes early on Thursday.

“We have already put air force on military targets as planned,” Richa Suksuwanon, deputy spokesman for the Thai Army, told reporters.

Thailand has also closed its border with Cambodia.

The Cambodian Ministry of Defense said the jets dropped two bombs on one road, “strongly condemning the reckless and cruel military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand and opposing Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The small-scale conflict came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a week of the second Thai soldiers, Bangkok allegedly missed Bangkok’s land soldiers in the disputed area recently.

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have sovereignty along various non-exaggerated locations on their 817km land border, leading to years of skirmishes.

Thailand’s health minister said 11 civilians and a soldier, including a child, were killed in artillery shells by Cambodian troops, while 24 civilians and seven military personnel were injured. There is no immediate news of casualties in Cambodia.

“The Thai military condemns Cambodia for using weapons to attack Thai civilians. Thailand is ready to protect sovereignty and our people from inhumane actions,” the country’s military said in a statement.

Regional powers urge peace

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it is very concerned about the ongoing developments on the Thailand-Borgward border and hopes that both sides can correctly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at regular press conferences that China will play a constructive role in promoting degradation, adding that China adheres to a fair and impartial stance.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chairman of Southeast Asia ASEAN, and also members of Thailand and Cambodia, urged calm and said he would talk to leaders of both countries to peacefully resolve their disputes.

Thai residents in Surin Border Province, including children and the elderly, ran to concrete-built shelters and reinforced them with sandbags and car tires.

An unidentified woman told the Thai Public Radio Service while hiding in the shelter when gunfire and explosions were heard in the backstage when an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Radio Service that it was countless. ”

The Cambodian Foreign Ministry said Thailand’s air strikes were “unreasonable” and called on its neighbors to withdraw its troops and “avoid any provocative actions that could escalate the situation.”

Another tension in May was followed by a brief shooting exchange.

The conflict began earlier on Thursday, about 360 kilometers east of the Thai capital, Bangkok, on the border between Cambodia and Thailand.

Thailand’s Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told reporters that Cambodia’s shelling included a strike on a hospital in Surin Province, which he said should be considered a war crime.

“The shells fell in people’s homes,” Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, head of Kabcheing district in Surin Province, told Reuters, adding that authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 border villages to safer locations. He added: “Two people died.”

Cambodia denies landmine charges

Video footage shows a thick pile of black smoke rising from the gas station near Thailand’s Western Sackett province as firefighters rushed to put out the fire.

The Health Minister said a total of eight people were killed and injured in Sissy Kate.

The Army said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone and then sent heavy weapons, including rocket launchers, to the area near Ta Moshin Thom Temple.

However, a spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Defense said the attacks by Thai and Cambodian forces were undoubtedly self-defense.

Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was subtle.

“We must be careful,” he told reporters. “We will abide by international law.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces have been bombarded by Thai troops.

Thailand accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area this week, which was injured and three soldiers were injured. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers turned the agreed route and triggered a mine from decades of war.

Cambodia left many mines from the civil war decades ago, according to the excavation of millions of people from the group.