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Three Thai civilians killed in heavy fighting on the country’s border cambodiaThe Thai military said on Thursday it was the first civilian death in the country since fighting resumed.
The latest large-scale fighting began with a clash on Sunday that injured two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire brokered by the US President. donald trump This ended five days of fighting in July over long-standing territorial disputes.
Nearly two dozen people are reported to have been killed in the latest fighting, while thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border and shifted to temporary shelters or to live with relatives.
A Thai military statement said Cambodia attacked Thai positions with artillery and mortars on Wednesday night, which it responded with the same type of heavy weapons, causing damage including “the destruction of enemy trucks.”
Cambodia’s Fresh News online news site, which closely reflects the government position, said the artillery battle was continuing on Thursday morning.
The fighting has caused international concern, including from Pope Leo XIV, who told an audience at the Vatican that he was “deeply saddened by the news of renewed conflict.”
“There have been many casualties, including civilians, and thousands have been forced to flee their homes. I express my closeness to these dear people in prayers,” he said on Wednesday.
Trump says he will urge the sides to return to the ceasefire
The original ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from Trump, who threatened to withdraw trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail at a regional meeting in Malaysia in October, which Trump attended.
Despite the agreement to cease fighting, the two countries continued a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued. Cambodia complained that Thailand did not return 18 captured soldiers as the ceasefire was in effect, while Thailand protested after soldiers patrolling the border were injured by landmines, which it alleged were recently laid by Cambodia. Cambodia insists the mines were left over from its decades-long civil war that ended in 1999.
Trump said he hoped to speak to the two leaders by phone on Thursday and expressed confidence that he would once again convince both sides to stop the fighting.
“I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?” Trump said this in a conversation with reporters on Wednesday, in which he also repeated his exaggerated claim of settling eight wars around the world since returning to the White House. “Sometimes, a flame will rekindle and I have to extinguish that little flame.”
US has not yet contacted Thailand after Thai Prime Minister Trump’s latest comments Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday.
Reflecting nationalistic public sentiment, Anutin has repeatedly vowed to continue fighting until Thailand’s sovereignty and security is ensured.
In Wednesday’s remarks, he did not appear to rule out talks with Cambodia, but said he would not do so only at Trump’s request.
their rivals exchange attack
Thailand has deployed jet fighters to carry out air strikes on military targets. Cambodia has deployed BM-21 rocket launchers with a range of 30–40 kilometers (19–25 mi).
At least six of the Thai soldiers killed were hit by rocket shrapnel, according to data collected by public broadcaster ThaiPBS.
The Thai military’s Northeastern Regional Command said Cambodian forces had fired 79 BM-21 salvos with 3,160 rockets, used artillery 122 times and used bombing drones in 63 strikes as of Wednesday afternoon. It said a hospital was evacuated after a rocket landed about 500 meters (550 yards) away in Surin province.
The Thai military also said it destroyed a tall crane atop a hill held by Cambodia where the centuries-old Preah Vihear temple is located, because it reportedly housed electronic and optical equipment used for military command and control purposes.
Thailand’s military announced Thursday that the dead included nine soldiers as well as three civilians who died while being evacuated. It also said that more than 120 soldiers were injured.
Cambodia said nine civilians, including a child, had died and 46 others were injured.
An ancient temple is at the center of controversy
The United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, on Wednesday expressed its “grave concern” over the fighting around the Preah Vihear temple, which it has designated a world heritage site.
“UNESCO stands ready to provide the necessary technical assistance to ensure the protection of cultural property and to implement any necessary safeguards as soon as the situation permits,” it said.
The Thai–Cambodian border conflict has its roots in a history of hostility over competing territorial claims. These claims largely stem from a map drawn in 1907, when Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand believes is inaccurate. Tensions were further heightened by a 1962 International Court of Justice decision that granted sovereignty to Cambodia, which still angers many Thais.
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Washington In the future for those who do not go, Snam Snam in Guard Madhe, Komagodia, Suffering in Odangerin.
