Thailand Claims Cambodia Planted Land Mines, Escalating Dispute
Three Thai soldiers were injured when they stepped on a land mine during a routine patrol along an established route within Thai territory on July 16, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Sunday. The mines were not of a type used by Thailand and were recently laid in a 'blatant violation of international law,' it said.
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What's Behind the Deadly Thailand-Cambodia Border Clashes?
A long-simmering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalated to deadly violence on July 24 as their military forces clashed at multiple spots. Both sides have claimed the other was the aggressor when the fighting started in one of the contested areas, Prasat Ta Muen Thom. There were reports of gunfire and artillery shelling, and Thailand dispatched F-16 fighter jets to attack Cambodian army bases.
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9 dead as Thailand Cambodia tensions spill into violent conflict
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Cambodia's defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it 'strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia'. AFP The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia's envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area. Thailand's foreign ministry said Cambodian troops fired 'heavy artillery' on a Thai military base on Thursday morning and also targeted civilian areas including a hospital, leading to civilian casualties. 'The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand's sovereignty,' the ministry said in a statement. 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Six people were killed and 10 wounded at the site, the military said, adding another person was killed in the border province of Ubon Ratchathani. 'The Thai Army condemns Cambodia for using weapons to attack civilians in Thailand. Thailand is ready to protect sovereignty and our people from inhumane action,' it said in a statement. The military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the Ta Moan Thom temple. Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. 'We have to be careful,' he told reporters. 'We will follow international law.' An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia's influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court. Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military. Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.
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Pregnant British teenager appears in court in Georgia on drug smuggling charges
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