Thailand has launched airstrikes along its disputed border with Cambodia, the Thai military said on Monday, after both countries accused each other of violating a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.
At least one Thai soldier was killed and four injured in the new clashes that broke out around two areas in the easternmost province of Ubon Ratchathani, the Thai military said in a statement, after its forces came under Cambodian fire.
“The Thai side has now started using aircraft to attack military targets in various areas,” the statement said.
The Cambodian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the Thai military had launched morning attacks on its forces in two locations after days of provocative actions, adding that Cambodian forces had not retaliated.
The Thai military said the Cambodian army had fired BM-21 missiles at Thai civilian areas, adding that there were no reports of casualties.
‘Red line for response has already been set’
At least 48 people were killed and an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced during the July clashes, with the neighbors exchanging rockets and heavy artillery fire.
After a landmine explosion last month that maimed one of its soldiers, Thailand said it was halting implementation of its ceasefire with Cambodia.
Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen, father of current Prime Minister Hun Manet, said the Thai military were “aggressors” seeking to provoke a retaliatory response and urged Cambodian forces to show restraint.
“The red line for response has already been established. I urge commanders at all levels to train all officers and soldiers accordingly,” Hun Sen said on Facebook, without elaborating.
In Thailand, more than 385,000 civilians are being evacuated in four border districts, with more than 35,000 already in temporary shelters, the Thai military said.
Thailand and Cambodia have disputed sovereignty for more than a century at unmarked points along their 817-kilometer land border, first mapped in 1907 by France when it ruled Cambodia as a colony.
The simmering tension has occasionally exploded into skirmishes, such as a week-long artillery exchange in 2011, despite efforts to resolve overlapping claims peacefully.
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