Fighting rages across Thai-Cambodian border as US calls for calm

At least 10 people have been killed as fighting fanned across the long Thai-Cambodian border, officials said on Tuesday, driving tens of thousands of civilians from their homes as both nations ignored a White House warning to end the bloodshed. The latest escalation has shattered a shaky US-steered truce that had largely held since late October, when Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian leader Hun Manet agreed to halt hostilities under a deal witnessed by US President Donald Trump in Kuala Lumpur. That ceasefire deal has since crumbled, with each side blaming the other for attacking first and insisting its own military actions are defensive. Thailand said it launched pre-emptive air operations against Cambodian military positions on Monday based on intelligence of planned rocket strikes, which materialised in earnest early on Tuesday. In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Thai Navy said Cambodian forces had been detected inside Thai territory in the coastal province of Trat and military operations were launched to expel them, without providing further details. The clash in Trat formed part of a wider surge in hostilities, with the Thai military later confirming that three of its soldiers had been killed and more than two dozen wounded as fighting spread along the 800km (500 mile) long frontier from Ubon Ratchathani in the inland north to the coast. For its part, Cambodia alleges it is the victim of Thai aggression along several disputed sections of the frontier. Its defence ministry said seven civilians had been killed and 20 wounded by Thai shelling as clashes ran into a third evening on Tuesday. Long-time former leader Hun Sen, father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, on Tuesday said the nation’s forces were now fighting back in full force after two days of restraint. “Our forces must fight at all points that the enemy has attacked,” he said in a post on social media. “Now we fight to defend ourselves again.” The frontier has long been a flashpoint between Thailand and Cambodia, whose decades-old dispute over French colonial-era boundaries fuels nationalist sentiment on both sides. In July, a five-day burst of fighting killed dozens and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. The clashes ended abruptly, with Trump claiming credit for threatening trade tariffs to push the two neighbours into a ceasefire, which was later formalised in October. The United States on Tuesday called for an immediate halt to the fighting. “We strongly urge the immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians, and for both sides to return” to the deal, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. While Trump has yet to comment publicly, a senior White House official told reporters that he “expects the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honour their commitments to end this conflict,” but offered no new measures to enforce the ceasefire. Anutin, who faces a general election next year, has continued to back Thailand’s military operations despite the risk of upsetting Trump at a sensitive moment in trade talks with Washington. Thailand wants to decouple trade talks from its ongoing border fight, arguing it has been provoked by Cambodian forces into this week’s confrontation by continued encroachment into its territory and by the laying of landmines in breaches of the Trump-steered ceasefire. On Monday, Anutin said “this is a matter between Thailand and its neighbour” when asked about the risks of upsetting Trump during ongoing talks on trade access to its biggest export market. Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow echoed that position, telling Reuters on Tuesday, “We don’t think tariffs should be used to pressure Thailand to get back to a dialogue process.” Sihasak added that the current situation was “not conducive” to outside mediation, saying Phnom Penh would have to make the first move. “If the other side feels that they want to really end the conflict, then we’re waiting to listen to what they have to say,” he said. Cambodia on Tuesday said it was open to immediate bilateral talks with Thailand. “Let’s say one hour from now, both sides agree to be on the table and then start communication,” Suos Yara, senior adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, told Reuters in a video interview from Phnom Penh. As the bellicose rhetoric hardens, tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced along both sides of the border – many for the second or third time since July – leaving homes empty and harvests abandoned. This entire crisis is nothing more than a political game that uses ordinary citizens as pawns Rung, 55, Thai evacuee “This entire crisis is nothing more than a political game that uses ordinary citizens as pawns,” Rung, a 55-year-old Thai evacuee in Ubon Ratchathani province who asked to be identified by only one name, told This Week in Asia. “Now hundreds of thousands of people have become victims.” In neighbouring Surin province, farmer Uan said he had taken shelter in a roadside tent after repeated evacuations. “Our life is dependent on Cambodians who we cannot trust, so we can’t get on with our lives,” he said. “We’ll follow anything the Thai authorities say as long as they end the conflict this time for good.” Border closures have already cost the two economies billions of dollars, deepening the strain on both as exports falter and domestic consumption weakens. Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Reuters

Fighting rages across Thai-Cambodian border as US calls for calm

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tens of thousands have fled their homes for the second time this year as Thailand and Cambodia trade heavy fire, leaving at least 10 dead

Tens of thousands have fled their homes for the second time this year as Thailand and Cambodia trade heavy fire, leaving at least 10 dead