SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations of fresh attacks Saturday as deadly border clashes entered a third day and international pressure mounted for a ceasefire. The fighting has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 168,000.
Artillery and small arms fire were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials blamed
each other for starting the clashes.
Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia.
Cambodian authorities reported 12 new deaths on Saturday, bringing its toll to 13, while the Thai military said a soldier was killed, raising the number of dead to 20, mostly civilians.
Cambodia’s Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday that the clashes have forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations. Thai officials said more than 131,000 people have fled their border villages.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is under growing pressure to defuse the tensions between its two members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the U.N. Security Council called for a de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he is in contact with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and has urged both sides to reach a ceasefire. In a post on social media, Trump suggested he would not conclude a trade agreement with either country if the cross-border hostilities continued.
The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions flared in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand’s domestic politics.
Cambodia's Defense Ministry condemned what it called an expanded Thai offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired into Pursat province. It said the attack was an "unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression.”
Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said tensions flared in the coastal province of Koh Kong and expressed concern about the possibility of confrontations at sea.
Maly Socheata said seven Cambodian civilians and five soldiers have been killed in two days of fighting. Another man was reportedly killed when a pagoda he was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets.
The Thai army has denied targeting Cambodian civilians and accuses Phnom Penh of using “human shields” by positioning their weapons near residential areas.
In a statement Saturday, Thailand's navy accused Cambodian forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, which shares a border with Koh Kong, saying Thai forces responded swiftly and “successfully pushed back the Cambodian incursion at three key points." The navy warned that “aggression will not be tolerated.”
Thai authorities also alleged several Cambodian artillery shells damaged homes and property in neighboring Laos. Lao officials have not publicly responded to the claim.
Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Security Council and other nations to press Thailand and Cambodia to abide by international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect civilians. Children have been harmed and Thailand has closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons, the rights group said in a statement Saturday.
Both sides have fired rockets and artillery, and after initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson said Friday that such weapons can be utilized “when necessary” to achieve military objectives. Human Rights Watch condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas.
Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon. Thai authorities used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead.
“Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,” John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Thai officials acknowledged it used F-16 jets and drones to launch airstrikes.
The U.N. Security Council didn't issue a resolution on the crisis during its Friday emergency session, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that the group's 15 members called for restraint, an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution. They also supported mediation by ASEAN, he said.
The leader of Malaysia, ASEAN's current chair, has said Thailand and Cambodia are open in principle to a ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has tasked the country's foreign minister to mediate peace talks.
Maris said Saturday his country has agreed in principle to ASEAN's ceasefire proposal, but insisted that Cambodia must first cease hostilities. He said Thailand continues to engage with Malaysia on the matter.
“Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,” he said, urging Cambodia to “return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.”
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Associated Press writers Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck in Bangkok, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. Sopheng Cheang reported from Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia.
