7 civilians killed, thousands displaced amid Thailand-Cambodia border clashes
LONDON -- At least seven civilians have been killed and approximately 20 others have been injured in Cambodia amid renewed border clashes with neighboring Thailand, according to the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense.
This week's Thai attacks, which stem from a long-running border dispute between the two Southeast Asian nations, have also forced more than 20,000 from their homes in several communities, the Cambodian ministry said, along with destroying infrastructure, damaging temples disrupting public services.
"In addition to these major impacts, further tragedies and damages continue to unfold, as the Thai military has launched various types of long-range munitions into Cambodian civilian settlements located up to 30 kilometers from the border," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, at least one Thai soldier has been killed and 29 others have been injured in the reignited combat around contested frontier territory, according to the Royal Thai Army.
The army said in a statement that its troops were on Tuesday enduring "continuous attacks against our positions" by Cambodian forces. Opposing troops had been "firing BM-21 multiple-launch rockets and employing bomb-dropping drones and kamikaze drones targeting our bases and defensive positions across several battlefronts" near the border, the army said.
More than 125,000 people were using the hundreds of temporary shelters set up on the Thai side of the border, the army said.
Since Monday, the clashes have spread to several provinces along the Cambodia-Thailand border. Both sides accuse each other for starting the fighting.
The latest clashes come just months after both sides agreed to a ceasefire. The two Southeast Asian nations have long disputed territorial sovereignty along their land border of more than 500 miles, according to The Associated Press.
