Bangkok, July 24 (EFE).- The Thai and Cambodian armies clashed Thursday in a disputed border area, according to both sides, who accuse each other of starting the skirmish after weeks of tension.
The Thai military said Phnom Penh forces opened fire in a border area in Surin province and that six Cambodian soldiers were outside a Thai operations base “fully armed, including rocket launchers.”
Meanwhile, Cambodian Senate Speaker and former leader Hun Sen accused Thai forces of initiating the attack and launching an “invasion.”
“The Cambodian Army has no choice but to retaliate and counterattack,” Hun Sen wrote in a Facebook post.
“Relevant agencies of the Royal Thai Army are closely monitoring the situation,” Thai forces reported, claiming to have heard “the sound of a Cambodian unmanned aerial vehicle” hovering overhead.
“We received a report shortly after 8am (local time, 01:00 GMT) that gunshots had been fired. We are currently investigating the details,” Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters.
“The situation requires extreme caution and must be handled in accordance with international law. I do not wish to elaborate at this time, and I urge the media to report cautiously, as emergencies could arise at any time,” Wechayachai added.
Thai military leaders “are meeting” and the National Security Council has been convened, according to the interim leader, who eased the tension by adding: “It did not become a full-blown confrontation.”
The clash between the armies of the neighboring nations comes a day after a Thai soldier lost his right leg after stepping on a landmine in border territory in Ubon Ratchathani.
This is the second such incident this month, prompting Thailand to recall its ambassador to Cambodia and expel the Cambodian ambassador to Bangkok.
Thai authorities hold Cambodia responsible for laying landmines on Thai territory, which they claim constitutes a violation of the Ottawa Convention, an international agreement that prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines, according to public broadcaster Thai PBS.
The Thai Embassy in Cambodia on Thursday urged its nationals to leave the neighboring country, following a clash between the two nations’ armies, for which they blame each other, given the possibility that the attacks “may continue and expand.”
“The Embassy recommends that Thai residents or temporary residents in Cambodia leave the country as soon as possible safely and requests cooperation from Thais during this period until the situation is resolved,” a statement from the embassy read.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh have been mired in a historic territorial dispute on their shared border, which has been intensifying since late May, after a Cambodian soldier was killed in an exchange of fire between the two armies.
Since that incident, for which both sides also blame each other, Thailand and Cambodia have stepped up troop deployments in areas where territorial claims overlap.
While Bangkok advocates for a bilateral settlement, Phnom Penh referred the dispute to the International Court of Justice in June. EFE
mca-ht/lds