Cambodia accuses Thailand of launching strikes during border peace talks | Cambodia
Cambodia has accused Thailand of intensifying its bombardment of disputed border areas even as officials from the two countries attended a multi-day meeting aimed at negotiating an end to deadly fighting.
A long-running border conflict between the neighbors reignited this month, breaking an earlier ceasefire and leaving more than 40 people dead, according to official figures. Approximately one million people were displaced.
Cambodian and Thai officials were in their third day of talks at a border checkpoint on Friday, and defense ministers from both countries were scheduled to meet on Saturday.
But Cambodia’s defense ministry said the Thai army launched a heavy bombardment of disputed border areas in Banteay Meanchey province on Friday morning.
“The Thai army deployed F-16 warplanes from 6.08 to 7.15 in the morning to intensify the bombardment in the Chok Chey village area and dropped up to 40 bombs,” the statement said.
Thai media reported on Friday that Cambodian forces launched heavy attacks overnight along the border in Sa Kaeo province, where many houses were damaged by the shelling.
The two countries accuse each other of provoking new conflicts that have spread to nearly every province along their border.
Both countries claim they acted in self-defense and accuse the other of attacking civilians.
The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a ceasefire to end five days of deadly fighting in July, but it was short-lived.
Earlier Friday, Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet said on Facebook that he spoke by phone with U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio and that the two discussed “ways to achieve a ceasefire on the Cambodia-Thailand border.”
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of its 800-kilometer border and the collection of temple ruins located there.
