Bangkok/Phnom Penh, December 9: Thailand launched air strikes against Cambodian positions on Monday as fresh clashes along the countries’ disputed border left four Cambodian civilians and one Thai soldier dead, officials from both sides said.
The fighting, which flared on Sunday before intensifying overnight, prompted mass evacuations in border provinces. Thailand’s Second Army Region said about 35,000 people had been moved to safety, while Cambodian authorities reported at least 1,157 families fleeing their homes in Oddar Meanchey province.
Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said an F-16 fighter jet had been deployed in what he described as an act of self-defence after Cambodian forces opened fire near the frontier. He said one Thai soldier was killed and eight wounded in the exchanges.
“The Thai air power is being used only against Cambodian military targets,” Winthai told reporters. “The strikes are highly precise, aimed solely at military objectives along the clash line, with no impact on civilians.”
Cambodia rejected the claim, accusing Thailand of attacking its troops in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces early Monday with tank fire and air strikes. Defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thai bombardment had wounded civilians and burned homes, adding that Cambodia did not retaliate.
A Cambodian journalist was wounded by shrapnel from a Thai rocket, information minister Neth Pheaktra said. Cambodian officials also reported Thai shells landing near the centuries-old Tamone Thom and Ta Krabei temples.
Thai authorities, meanwhile, accused Cambodian forces of firing BM-21 rockets into Thailand’s Buri Ram province, though no casualties were reported.
“Given what happened in July, I complied immediately,” said Pannarat Woratham, a farmer in Thailand’s Surin province who fled to a temple shelter on Sunday. She said it was the second time she had evacuated since clashes earlier this year forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Five days of combat in July killed 43 people and displaced about 300,000 before a truce brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia took effect. A follow-on agreement endorsed in October by U.S. President Donald Trump was suspended by Thailand last month after a landmine blast injured Thai soldiers, leading to renewed accusations from both sides.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday urged Bangkok and Phnom Penh to halt hostilities and return to diplomacy. “Our region cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation,” he said. The frontier tension centres on rival claims to a cluster of ancient temples along the border, rooted in maps drawn during France’s colonial rule in the region.
