Cambodia calls for ceasefire amid deadly border clashes with Thailand

A pagoda damaged by Thai artillery is pictured in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people "could develop into war", as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. Photo / AFP

Cambodia wants an “immediate ceasefire” with Thailand, the country’s envoy to the United Nations said on Friday, after the neighbours traded deadly strikes for a second day, with Bangkok also signalling an openness to talks.

A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis on Friday.

“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” said Phnom Penh’s UN ambassador Chhea Keo after a closed meeting of the council attended by Cambodia and Thailand.

A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border on Friday, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian – a 70-year-old man – had been killed and five more wounded.

More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities – 14 civilians and a soldier – with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops.

Fighting resumed in three areas about 4am on Friday (9am NZT), the Thai army said, with Cambodian forces firing heavy weapons, field artillery and BM-21 rocket systems, and Thai troops responding “with appropriate supporting fire”.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told AFP that fighting had begun to ease off by Friday afternoon, however, adding that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia.

“We are ready, if Cambodia would like to settle this matter via diplomatic channels, bilaterally, or even through Malaysia, we are ready to do that. But so far we have not had any response,” Nikorndej told AFP, speaking before the UN meeting had been held.

Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members.

Earlier, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai had warned that if the situation escalated, “it could develop into war”.

“For now, it remains limited to clashes,” he told reporters in Bangkok.

Ongoing dispute

Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.

At the UN, Cambodia’s envoy questioned Thailand’s assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbour, had initiated the conflict.

“[The Security Council] called for both parties to [show] maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well,” said Chhea Keo.

None of the other attendees of the UNSC meeting spoke to reporters.

The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours – both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists – over their shared 800km border.

Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.

A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.

‘We are scared’

Fighting on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples.

Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border.

In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20km from the border, AFP journalists saw families speeding away in vehicles with their children and belongings as gunfire erupted.

“I live very close to the border. We are scared,” Pro Bak, 41, told AFP.

He was taking his wife and children to a Buddhist temple to seek refuge.

– Agence France-Presse