Half a million evacuated on Thai-Cambodia border as Trump makes diplomatic push to end fighting | Cambodia
Half a million evacuees in Cambodia and Thailand sought refuge in pagodas, schools and other safe havens on Wednesday after fleeing new border clashes, while US President Donald Trump vowed to intervene to stop the fighting.
At least 15 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the latest clashes, officials said, while more than 500,000 people have fled border areas where jets, tanks and drones are fighting.
“The authorities say it’s not safe anymore,” said Seut Soeung, 30, who was resting on the roadside with his family as vehicles packed with people, dogs and clothes passed by.
A police officer, who asked not to be named, said displaced families were evacuated from the temple grounds due to safety concerns after several Thai jets flew nearby.
Thailand and Cambodia have opposed the colonial-era demarcation of their 800 km (500 mile) border, where rival claims to historic temples have erupted into armed conflict.
This week’s clashes have been the deadliest since five days of clashes in July that left dozens dead before a shaky ceasefire was agreed following Trump’s intervention.
Both sides blame each other for reigniting the conflict, which has spread across five provinces of Thailand and Cambodia.
More than 400,000 civilians have been evacuated to shelters, a Thai defense ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
Sugarcane farmer Niam Poda fled her home in Thailand’s border district of Sa Kaeo (just 5km from the border) for the second time in five months.
The 62-year-old man said he was doing laundry on Monday when he heard a loud explosion.
“I had to run as quickly as possible to save my life,” he told AFP at an evacuation centre, adding that he had left his medication behind.
“Whatever happens next, I hope peace will come and I can return to tending my sugarcane in peace,” he added.
Trump told reporters in Washington that he would call the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday and predicted he could resolve hostilities “pretty quickly.”
“I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?” Trump said on Wednesday.
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chairs of the regional bloc Asean, brokered a ceasefire in July.
In October, Trump backed a joint declaration heralding new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia, which agreed to extend their ceasefire.
However, Thailand suspended the agreement the following month.
The Thai military has declared a nightly curfew from 7pm to 5am in some parts of Sa Kaeo, starting Wednesday night.
More than 101,000 people in Cambodia have been evacuated to shelters and relatives’ homes, defense ministry spokesman Maly Socheata told reporters.
“The Thai army opened fire indiscriminately on civilian areas and schools, and specifically bombed the Ta Krabey temple,” he said, describing the disputed border temple as “Cambodia’s sacred site”.
Cambodia’s interior ministry gave an updated death toll of 10 civilians. Maly Socheata had previously said that a baby was among those killed.
Meanwhile, the Thai military said Cambodian forces fired rockets early Wednesday near the Phanom Dong Rak hospital in Surin province, which was hit in fighting in July.
Cambodia withdrew from the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand on Wednesday, citing security concerns for its athletes.
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told reporters on Wednesday that the conflict would eventually end with talks, but now was not the time for dialogue.
“If a third country wants to mediate, Thailand cannot accept it at this stage because the line has been crossed,” he said.
“Thai citizens have been killed and we need to ensure there is sufficient trust so negotiations can begin.”
