The last time I wrote about the Cambodia-Thailand conflict, President Donald Trump formalized a peace deal he brokered between the two nations this summer, following a spike in border disputes. He subsequently secured the signatures of both countries on significant mineral and trade deals.
Now, new fighting threatens to unravel the Trump-brokered ceasefire.
Thailand launched airstrikes against Cambodia on Monday as a new wave of fighting erupted between the southeast Asian neighbors, marking the potential collapse of a peace plan presided over by US President Donald Trump just two months ago.Both sides accused the other of launching strikes along their disputed border Monday morning, after weeks of simmering tension and the earlier suspension of progress on the ceasefire agreement by Thailand.The airstrikes targeted only military infrastructure, including “weapon depots, command centers and logistical routes assessed as direct threats, ” the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) said in a statement.“Cambodia had mobilized heavy weaponry, repositioned combat units and prepared fire-support elements – activities that could escalate military operations and pose a threat to the Thai border area,” the RTAF statement said.
Both sides are giving conflicting accounts of what triggered the recent exchange.
On Sunday, Thailand said , externalthat Cambodian soldiers had opened fire on Thai troops deployed to protect engineers working on a road improvement project in the border Sisaket Province.Thai forces then returned fire and the clash lasted for 15-20 minutes, killing two Thai soldiers, the Thai army said.Cambodia denies this account, saying that it was the Thai military that had fired shots with guns and tanks towards Cambodian territory. Cambodian forces did not retaliate, its defence ministry said.On Monday, the Thai army said that its troops had responded to Cambodian fire in Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Province.
Current reports indicate one soldier has died, four have been wounded, and thousands have been evacuated.
After Cambodian troops fired on Thai forces early Monday morning in Ubon Ratchathani province, “the Army received reports that Thai soldiers were attacked with supporting fire weapons, resulting in one soldier killed and four wounded”, Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in a statement.Winthai also said Thailand had begun “using aircraft to strike military targets in several areas” to suppress attacks by Cambodian forces….Thailand’s Second Army Region said in a statement that around 35,000 people in Thailand have been evacuated from areas along the border with Cambodia since the renewed fighting.The Thai army also accused Cambodian forces of firing BM-21 rockets towards civilian areas in Buri Ram province, with no casualties reported.
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