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The Thai Army said on Monday that it has launched air strikes against military targets in Cambodia, while authorities from each country reported the deaths of at least five people, a Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians, in what is the worst episode of clashes since July, when they ceased with the mediation of Donald Trump.
Cambodia's Information Minister, Neth Pheaktra, told EFE that at least four civilians lost their lives and nine others were injured in the country after attacks from Thailand, amid clashes in the last 24 hours on the border between the two countries, which have a historic territorial dispute that led to the death of around 50 people in July.
The spokesman for the Thai Army, Winthai Suvaree, confirmed in a televised statement that a soldier died and seven people were injured in attacks that he attributed to Cambodian military personnel.
The Thai Army admitted to having attacked by air this Thursday targets it described as military in Cambodia as a "response to Cambodian military operations", after one of its soldiers died from alleged shots from Phnom Penh, which denies having initiated the shooting or attacked. Back in July, when both countries engaged in five days of hostilities, both sides exchanged accusations that prevented clarifying who initiated the armed skirmish, which was then stopped with a ceasefire agreement in Malaysia, mediated by the United States, with China as a witness. The ceasefire was reinforced in October with a peace agreement sealed, again in Malaysia, during a ceremony attended by U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, Anutin Charnvirakul and Hun Manet, respectively. Monday's attacks effectively violate the agreement - already unilaterally and temporarily suspended in November by Anutin - promoted by Trump, whom Cambodia even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in the conflict, using tariffs as a bargaining chip to pressure both sides to reach a solution. New wave of hostilities The Cambodian Information Minister assured this Monday via Telegram that Thai military personnel fired in three border provinces with civilian populations, where attacks had already been recorded during the clashes in July: Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, and Beanteay Meanchey. Meanwhile, Bangkok indicates that it has attacked "only military infrastructure, weapons depots, command centers and combat support routes" associated with activities considered a threat to national security. Cambodian Defense spokeswoman Maly Socheata denounced in a televised statement that the Thai armed forces "fired at innocent civilians", using "small and heavy weapons, indiscriminately and brutally attacking civilian residential areas". Anutin, for his part, maintained that Thailand "has never desired violence nor initiated aggression", but "will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty and will respond with reason, caution and peace" and assured that the Thai government "is ready to implement all necessary measures to maintain national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity". Resurgence of the conflict
The conflict resurfaced in July, weeks after the veteran Cambodian politician Hun Sen, who ruled the country with an iron fist for almost four decades, leaked the audio of a call with the then Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. In that call, the then-leader criticized a high-ranking Thai military official, a rebuke that cost her the position following a controversial decision by the Thai Constitutional Court announced at the end of August. Anutin took over her position. The current episode takes place at a time of renewed weakness for the Thai government, and when both countries are going through credibility crises. Anutin's Executive, with a minority in Parliament and who pledged to leave power at the end of January to hold early elections, has been the subject of criticism for his alleged lack of foresight in the catastrophic floods that have hit the south of the country. For its part, the Cambodian government, with fictitious stability after eliminating any hint of political opposition since 2018, has seen an increase in pressure from the international community due to the online scam centers that proliferate in its territory.
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The clashes occur after tensions escalated on Sunday with an exchange of fire across the border between both armies that left two Thai soldiers injured, and leave thousands displaced in towns near the shared border, of about 820 kilometers and mapped by France in 1907, when Cambodia was part of French Indochina. Cross accusationsThe Thai Army admitted to having attacked by air this Thursday targets it described as military in Cambodia as a "response to Cambodian military operations", after one of its soldiers died from alleged shots from Phnom Penh, which denies having initiated the shooting or attacked. Back in July, when both countries engaged in five days of hostilities, both sides exchanged accusations that prevented clarifying who initiated the armed skirmish, which was then stopped with a ceasefire agreement in Malaysia, mediated by the United States, with China as a witness. The ceasefire was reinforced in October with a peace agreement sealed, again in Malaysia, during a ceremony attended by U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, Anutin Charnvirakul and Hun Manet, respectively. Monday's attacks effectively violate the agreement - already unilaterally and temporarily suspended in November by Anutin - promoted by Trump, whom Cambodia even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in the conflict, using tariffs as a bargaining chip to pressure both sides to reach a solution. New wave of hostilities The Cambodian Information Minister assured this Monday via Telegram that Thai military personnel fired in three border provinces with civilian populations, where attacks had already been recorded during the clashes in July: Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, and Beanteay Meanchey. Meanwhile, Bangkok indicates that it has attacked "only military infrastructure, weapons depots, command centers and combat support routes" associated with activities considered a threat to national security. Cambodian Defense spokeswoman Maly Socheata denounced in a televised statement that the Thai armed forces "fired at innocent civilians", using "small and heavy weapons, indiscriminately and brutally attacking civilian residential areas". Anutin, for his part, maintained that Thailand "has never desired violence nor initiated aggression", but "will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty and will respond with reason, caution and peace" and assured that the Thai government "is ready to implement all necessary measures to maintain national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity". Resurgence of the conflict
The conflict resurfaced in July, weeks after the veteran Cambodian politician Hun Sen, who ruled the country with an iron fist for almost four decades, leaked the audio of a call with the then Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. In that call, the then-leader criticized a high-ranking Thai military official, a rebuke that cost her the position following a controversial decision by the Thai Constitutional Court announced at the end of August. Anutin took over her position. The current episode takes place at a time of renewed weakness for the Thai government, and when both countries are going through credibility crises. Anutin's Executive, with a minority in Parliament and who pledged to leave power at the end of January to hold early elections, has been the subject of criticism for his alleged lack of foresight in the catastrophic floods that have hit the south of the country. For its part, the Cambodian government, with fictitious stability after eliminating any hint of political opposition since 2018, has seen an increase in pressure from the international community due to the online scam centers that proliferate in its territory.
