Thailand Strikes Back: Air Raids Along Cambodia Border Following Deadly Clashes

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The attacks are the latest report of tensions flaring between the neighbours, after a ceasefire was agreed to in July.

The Royal Thai Army has announced launching air attacks along its disputed border with Cambodia, after accusing Cambodian forces of firing at its troops and killing at least one soldier.

In a statement on Monday, spokesman Major-General Winthai Suvari said the Thai Army deployed aircraft after the deadly clashes in the Chong Bok area of Nam Yuen District in Ubon Ratchathani province.

Suvari said the Thai Army was “expediting support for the evacuation of civilians in border areas”.

Cambodia also confirmed the attacks.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata told the AFP news agency that Thai forces launched an attack on Cambodian troops in the border provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey early on Monday morning.

She added that Cambodia had not retaliated.

The attacks are the latest flare-up of violence between the neighbours after a ceasefire ended five days of deadly clashes in July.

At least 48 people were killed and an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced during the clashes, with the two neighbours exchanging rockets and heavy artillery fire.

The ceasefire that ended the hostilities was brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and United States President Trump, who also witnessed the signing of an expanded peace agreement between the two countries in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Tensions have continued to flare, however.

Following a landmine blast last month that maimed one of its soldiers, Thailand said it was halting the implementation of the ceasefire pact with Cambodia. Phnom Penh denied responsibility for the landmine explosion, saying the device was a remnant from past conflicts.

Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, first mapped in 1907 by France when it ruled Cambodia as a colony.

Simmering tension has occasionally exploded into skirmishes, such as a weeklong artillery exchange in 2011, despite attempts to peacefully resolve overlapping claims.