Thailand and Cambodia trade attacks and accusations as allies call for ceasefire

SURIN, Thailand — Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations of fresh attacks Saturday as deadly border clashes entered a third day and international pressure mounted on both sides to reach a ceasefire. The fighting has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 168,000.

Artillery fire and gunshots were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared again Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation.

Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its northeastern border crossings with Cambodia.

Cambodian authorities on Saturday reported 12 new deaths, bringing its toll to 13, while Thai officials said a soldier was killed, raising the deaths to 20, mostly civilians.

Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday that the clashes have forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations. Thai officials said more than 131,000 people have fled their border villages.

The 500-mile frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand’s domestic politics.

On Saturday, President Trump posted on his social media site that he has spoken with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested he would not conclude a trade agreement with either country if the cross-border hostilities continued. He later claimed both sides had agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire.

Officials from the two countries did not immediately confirm any plan to meet.

Trump’s comments followed increasing pressure on the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations to defuse the tensions between its two members.

During an emergency meeting Friday, members of the United Nations Security Council called for a de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution. The council didn’t issue a resolution on the crisis, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that the group’s 15 members called for restraint, an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN’s current chair, has said Thailand and Cambodia are open to a ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Ibrahim has tasked his foreign minister with mediating peace talks, but no concrete plans have been announced.

Thailand’s foreign minister, Maris, said earlier Saturday that his country has agreed in principle to ASEAN’s ceasefire proposal, but insisted Cambodia must first cease hostilities. He said Thailand continues to engage with Malaysia on the matter.

“Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,” he said, urging Cambodia to “return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.

Cambodia’s Defense Ministry condemned what it said was an expanded Thai offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired into several locations in the province of Pursat, calling the attack an “unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression.”

Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said tensions flared in the province of Koh Kong, where four Thai naval vessels were reportedly stationed offshore and four others en route. She said the naval deployment was an “act of aggression” that risked further escalation.

Maly Socheata said seven civilians and five soldiers were killed in two days of fighting. Earlier, one man was reported dead after a pagoda he was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets.

The Thai army had denied targeting Cambodian civilian sites and accused Phnom Penh of using human shields by positioning their weapons near residential areas.

In a statement Saturday, Thailand’s navy accused Cambodian forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, saying Thai forces responded swiftly and “successfully pushed back the Cambodian incursion at three key points,” warning that “aggression will not be tolerated.”

Thai authorities also alleged that several Cambodian artillery shells had landed across the border in Laos, damaging homes and property. Laotian officials have not publicly responded to the claim.

Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Security Council and concerned nations to press the Thai and Cambodian governments to abide by international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect civilians. Children have been harmed and Thai authorities have closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons, the rights group said in a statement Saturday.

Both sides have employed rocket and artillery attacks, and after initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson in a statement Friday said that such weapons could be utilized “when necessary” to target military objectives. Human Rights Watch condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas.

Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon, and Thai authorities previously used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead.

“Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,” John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

Thai officials also acknowledged the use of F-16 jets and drones to launch airstrikes.

Saksornchai and Cheang write for the Associated Press and reported from Surin and Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia, respectively. AP writers Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck in Bangkok and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.