Thousands of people have been evacuated from either side of the border, while fighting has left at least 32 people dead
Cambodia wants an “immediate ceasefire” with Thailand, the country’s envoy to the United Nations has said, with Bangkok also signalling an openness to talks after two days of deadly clashes that have left 32 dead and thousands displaced.
“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” said UN ambassador Chhea Keo, after a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand.
Further fighting was reported earlier on Saturday, after a long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting on Thursday, with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops, prompting the UN security council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis.
Fighting has killed at least 19 people in Thailand – mostly civilians —while Cambodia said Saturday that 12 more people have killed on its side, bringing its death toll to 13.
More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said. Officials said six of its soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed while 29 soldiers and 30 civilians were wounded.
Early Saturday, Cambodian defence ministry spokesperson Gen. Maly Socheata told reporters that seven more civilians and five soldiers have died from two days of fighting. It earlier reported one fatality – a man who was killed when the pagoda he was hiding in got hit by Thai rocket. Cambodian authorities said more than 23,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border.
After the first day of clashes, fighting resumed in three areas around 4am on Friday, the Thai army said. On Saturday, the Cambodian ministry of defence said that heavy artillery shells had been fired into multiple locations and demanded “that Thailand immediately cease all hostile actions and uphold its obligations under international law.”
Thailand’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told AFP 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.
On Thursday, 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.
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours 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.
With Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press
Source: www.theguardian.com