Thailand, Cambodia clash with jets and rockets in deadly border row

BANGKOK: Thailand and Cambodia fought their bloodiest military clashes in more than a decade on Thursday, with at least 12 people killed as the two sides battled with tanks, artillery and ground forces over a disputed border zone.

The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet.

The decades-old squabble flared into bloody clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.

In Thursday’s clashes, Cambodia fired rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambled F-16 jets to carry out air strikes.

The Thai public health ministry said one soldier and at least 11 civilians were killed, most of them in a rocket strike near a petrol station in Sisaket province.

Footage from the scene showed smoke pouring from a convenience store attached to the petrol station. Provincial officials said most of the dead were students inside the shop when the attack happened.

“I heard a loud noise three or four times, and when I looked over, there was a gigantic cloud of smoke,” Praphas Intaracheun, a 53-year-old gardener from Sisaket province, told AFP.

He was was refuelling at another petrol station around 300 metres (984 feet) from the one that was hit.

“I was absolutely shocked. This is the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like this,” he said.

“I’m scared it might escalate during the night when you can’t see anything. I don’t even dare sleep.”

The Thai public health ministry said 35 civilians have been wounded.

‘I don’t even dare sleep’

Fighting was focused on six locations, the Thai army said, with ground troops and tanks battling Cambodian forces for control of territory.

Six Thai air force jets were deployed, hitting two “Cambodian military targets on the ground”, according to Thai military deputy spokesperson Ritcha Suksuwanon.

Cambodia has not yet commented on casualties on its side. Defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata refused to answer when asked about the issue at a news conference.

Both sides blame the other for starting the fighting, which erupted near two temples on the border.

The Cambodian defence ministry said its forces had responded in self-defence against an “armed assault”.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to address what his foreign ministry labelled “unprovoked military aggression”.

Thailand’s government, meanwhile, accused Cambodia of being “inhumane, brutal and war-hungry” and said all border crossings had been shut and nearby residents evacuated.

The Thai military blamed Cambodian soldiers for firing first, and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”, saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a community in Surin province, wounding three people.

Thailand’s embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia “as soon as possible”.

China, a close ally of Cambodia, said it was “deeply concerned” about the clashes, calling for dialogue – while urging its citizens in Cambodia to avoid the border with Thailand.

Long-running row

The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine.

Cambodia downgraded ties to “the lowest level” on Thursday, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.

The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct.

A diplomatic call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former longtime ruler and father of Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called on both sides to “stand down” and start talks.

Malaysia currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which both Thailand and Cambodia are members.