Thailand-Cambodia Border Clashes Continue
CAMBODIA – Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continued on Tuesday Dec. 9, with each side accusing the other of breaching ceasefire.
New air raids by Thai F-16 fighter jets were being reported.
The Cambodian Defense Ministry claimed seven civilian deaths and several injuries in the latest border clashes, which began on Monday, while Bangkok, in a counterclaim, reports that houses were damaged by cross-border artillery shelling.
In Phnom Penh, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata accused the Thai forces of “aggressive military operations by Thai forces on Cambodian territory,” according to state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse.
She condemned what she described as “inhumane and brutal acts” and accused Thai forces of violating the ceasefire and Joint Declaration signed by both prime ministers on Oct. 26 in the presence of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The Cambodian daily Khmer Times reported that the Thai military used F-16 fighter jets and dropped bombs in the center of Samrong city, Oddar Meanchey province.
Another Cambodian outlet, Fresh News, said: “New images from Thmar Da commune, Veal Veng district, reveal smoke billowing over a casino building after the Thai military fired heavy artillery into Cambodian territory on Tuesday morning (Dec 9).
“Intense fighting erupted between Cambodian and Thai military units, spreading to the vicinity of Border Post 48 in Ou Bei Choan commune, Ou Chrov district, roughly 16 kilometers from Poipet city.”
Earlier, the Royal Thai Army accused Cambodian forces of firing artillery shells into civilian homes in the Ban Khok Thahan area on Monday night, damaging two houses.
The Thai Army described the shelling as a “serious violation of sovereignty” and stated that Thailand was following international principles while taking necessary precautions to protect its citizens.
President Trump on Monday urged both countries to fully honor their cease-fire commitments to bring the conflict to an end.
On Monday, Thai media reported that Thailand launched airstrikes after fresh clashes left one Thai soldier dead and four others injured, threatening a fragile ceasefire agreement brokered by Trump.
The Thai Air Force said it used F-16 fighter jets to strike Cambodian positions in the Chong Ahn Ma border area in “retaliation for a series of Cambodian attacks,” state broadcaster Thai PBS World reported.
The Thai Armed Forces said Cambodia’s “border attack” in Si Sa Ket province was a “calculated distraction from evidence of newly planted PMN-2 anti-personnel landmines inside Thai territory.” However, Cambodia has denied laying new landmines along its border with Thailand.
