Renewed Thailand-Cambodia border fighting displaces hundreds of thousands
US President Donald Trump said he would use his sway to end the combat between the two countries.
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters.
Associated Press reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire on Wednesday.
About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and around 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, Thai military spokesman Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said on Wednesday.
Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and hundreds of schools closed, the defence ministry said.
Thailand’s military announced that casualties this week include five soldiers killed and dozens wounded.
Cambodia said seven civilians died and 20 others were wounded, though it did not update those figures on Wednesday.
There is not yet a clear path to peace as Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul vowed to continue to fight and Cambodia’s powerful senate President Hun Sen promised a fierce response.
A knock-on effect of the fighting and bad blood between the nations was Cambodia’s withdrawal of its entire team from the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, which began on Tuesday in Thailand.
A Wednesday announcement from the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia said it regretted the action but the families of competitors were concerned about their safety.
The new, widespread fighting followed a skirmish Sunday that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire pushed by US President Donald Trump that ended armed combat in July.
The five days of fighting over territorial disputes left dozens dead on both sides and forced the evacuation of thousands of civilians.
The ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Mr Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed.
Late on Tuesday at a Pennsylvania political event, Mr Trump said he would use his sway to end the renewed combat.
“Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call,” Mr Trump said.
“Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war between two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?’”
US secretary of state Marco Rubio earlier called on the two sides to live up to the commitments made at an October meeting in Malaysia that reaffirmed the July ceasefire and called for removing heavy weapons from the border, co-ordinating removal of land mines and other steps.
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said on Wednesday that had not yet been any contact with the US on the matter.
He added that Thailand will not likely accept if another third party proposes to mediate since “the line has been crossed”.
The ceasefire was fragile from the start as both nations carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor incidents of cross-border violence continued.
Thailand deployed jet fighters to carry out airstrikes on what it says are military targets, while Cambodia’s most fearsome weapons are BM-21 rocket launchers with a range of roughly 30-40 kilometres (19-25 miles).
They are capable of firing salvos of 40 rockets at a time and mounted on trucks, making them less vulnerable to attack.
A Thai army statement said Cambodia on Tuesday launched approximately 125 salvos from BM-21 launchers totalling about 5,000 rockets and that some had hit civilian areas, though no casualties were reported.
