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Armed clashes have broken out between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed area of their border, the militaries of both countries said, accusing each other of firing the first shots after weeks of simmering tension.
In a statement, the Thai military said Cambodian troops had opened fire in an area near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple early on Thursday. It said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area with heavy weapons.
A spokesperson for Cambodia’s defence ministry said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.
Cambodia’s influential former premier Hun Sen – and father of current prime minister Hun Manet – said that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from Thailand’s military. In a post on his Facebook page, Hun Sen called for calm and urged Cambodians to place their trust in the Cambodian armed forces and government.
Thailand’s acting premier, Phumtham Wechayachai, said the situation at Thailand’s border was delicate and must be addressed with care and measures in line with international law.
The clash came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine in the disputed area.
Thailand has said the landmines had been placed in the area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups.
The Thai government has also ordered the closure of all border checkpoints under the jurisdiction of Thailand’s Second Army, the ruling Pheu Thai party said.
“Tourists are strictly prohibited from entering these border areas,” it said.
Relations between the south-east Asian neighbours have deteriorated sharply since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an armed confrontation in one of several small patches of land both countries claim as their own territory.
Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation, and Thailand’s prime minister was suspended from office on 1 July to be investigated for possible ethics violations over her handling of the border dispute.
Many border checkpoints had already been closed by one side or the other or operated with restrictions. Cambodia has also banned Thai movies and TV shows, stopped the import of Thai fruits and vegetables and boycotted some of its neighbour’s international internet links and power supply. It also stopped importing fuel from Thailand.
The Thai army said the landmine that wounded five soldiers on Wednesday, including one who lost his leg, had been placed in Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province.
Cambodia said the blast happened in its Preah Vihear province. A week earlier, a landmine in a different contested area exploded and wounded three Thai soldiers when one of them stepped on it and lost a foot.
Thai authorities have alleged the mines were newly laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe. They said the mines were Russian-made and not of a type employed by Thailand’s military. Cambodia has denied the accusation.
With Reuters and Associated Press
