Death toll in Thailand-Cambodia border clashes hits 32, dozens wounded
Cambodian Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Maly Socheata told reporters on Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers were confirmed dead. One other Cambodian man was earlier reported killed when Thai rockets hit the Buddhist pagoda he was hiding in on Thursday.
Thailand has reported 13 civilians – including children – as well as six soldiers killed over the past two days of fighting.
An additional 29 Thai soldiers and 30 civilians have also been wounded in Cambodian attacks.
Cambodian newspaper The Khmer Times, quoting officials in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, said about 20,000 residents have so far been evacuated from the country's northern border with Thailand.
More than 138,000 people have also been evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with about 300 evacuation centres opened, according to Thai officials. On Friday, Thailand declared martial law in eight districts along the border with Cambodia.
The decades-old conflict – centred around a contested section of the Thai-Cambodian border – re-erupted on Thursday after a landmine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.
Tensions spilled over on Thursday with Thailand and Cambodia carrying out direct attacks on one another's territory, with both sides accusing the other of opening fire first.
Thailand said the Cambodian military launched long-range rockets at civilian targets in the country, including a strike on a petrol station that killed at least six people.
The Thai military then scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia, including the reported strike on the Buddhist pagoda, which resulted in one civilian casualty.
Cambodia has accused Thailand of using a large number of cluster munitions – a controversial and widely condemned weapon – calling it a clear violation of international law.
Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand's acting prime minister, said on Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians, as well as damage caused to a hospital.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting focused on the clashes behind closed doors late on Friday in New York, but did not issue an official public statement after the meeting.
The Associated Press news agency, citing an unnamed council diplomat, reported that all 15 UNSC members called on the parties to de-escalate fighting, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully.
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