Death toll rises in Thai-Cambodian clashes despite ceasefire call
Cambodia's defence ministry said 13 people were now confirmed killed in the fighting, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded.
In Thailand, the army said five soldiers were killed on Friday, taking the toll there to 20 -- 14 civilians and six military.
The death toll across the two countries is now higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.
Both sides reported a clash around 5:00 am (2200 GMT Friday), with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing "five heavy artillery shells" into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand's Trat province -- on the coast some 250 kilometres (160 miles) southwest of the main frontlines.
AFP journalists in the Cambodian town of Samraong, near the ridge of forest-clad hills that marks the border and has seen the bulk of the fighting, heard the thump of artillery early Saturday afternoon.
A Thai villager reached by phone as he sheltered in a bunker in Sisaket province, just 10 kilometres from the frontier, also reported hearing artillery.
"I just want this to end as soon as possible," Sutian Phiewchan told AFP.
The fighting has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia.
After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire.
"Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire -- unconditionally -- and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," he told reporters.
Border row
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that for any ceasefire or talks to proceed, Cambodia needed to show "genuine sincerity in ending the conflict".
"I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue," Maris told reporters.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said Friday, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia.
Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members.
Both sides have blamed the other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.
Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions.
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- still an influential figure in the kingdom -- visited shelters on Saturday to meet evacuees.
"The military needs to complete its operations before any dialogue can take place," Thaksin told reporters.
The 76-year-old said he had no plans to contact Hun Sen, Cambodia's powerful ex-prime minister who was long a close ally.
"His actions reflect a disturbed mindset. He should reflect on his conduct," Thaksin said of Hun Sen.
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over their shared 800-kilometre (500-mile) border.
Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.
The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn -- Thaksin's daughter -- was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army.
She was suspended from office by a court order.
burs-pdw/mtp
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Ex-porn actor to be Colombian equality minister
Juan Carlos Florian is to be named to the cabinet, an official said, in a move sure to spark debate in the deeply Catholic nation. Florian, who was a sex worker and creator of gay porn, will head up a department that guarantees vulnerable communities get access to social programs. He has already served as a junior minister and worked in various international organizations. More than 50 ministers have passed through leftist Gustavo Petro's cabinet since he took office three years ago. © 2025 AFP
LeMonde
12 hours ago
- LeMonde
France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy
France said Friday, August 1, it could not seize women's contraception products estimated to be worth $9.7 million that the United States plans to destroy, after media reported the stockpile would be incinerated in the country. The contraceptives – intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden. But France's health ministry told Agence France-Presse Friday there was no legal way for it to intervene. The administration of Biden's successor Donald Trump, which has slashed USAID and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed last month it planned to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel. According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste. France's government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women's rights groups calling the US decision "insane." The health ministry told AFP that the government had "examined the courses of action available to us, but unfortunately there is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority, let alone the French national drug safety authority, to recover these medical products. Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks." The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed. Leaving Belgian warehouse Sarah Durocher, head of the French women's rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives had already left the Belgian warehouse. "We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun," Durocher said Thursday. "We do not know where these trucks are now – or whether they have arrived in France," she added. "We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision." French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it had a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider. But Veolia emphasized that the contract concerned "only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium. The products, mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring. Outrage over decision The US decision has provoked an outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their government to stop the plan. "France cannot allow itself to become the stage for such actions. A moratorium is necessary," wrote five NGOs in an op-ed in Le Monde, condemning the "absurdity" of the US decision. Among them was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government. All offers have been rejected. Last week, New Hampshire's Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse." A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The spokesperson pointed to a policy that prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions. The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the "global gag rule," was first introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It has been reinstated under every Republican president since. Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.
Local France
13 hours ago
- Local France
Outrage grows in France over US plan to destroy contraceptives
The contraceptives – which were intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden. Successor Donald Trump's administration, which has slashed foreign aid and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed earlier this month that it plans to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel. According to several media reports, the unexpired products were planned to be incinerated in France by the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste. AFP has not been able to confirm this from an official source. Sarah Durocher, the head of the French women's rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives have already left the Belgian warehouse. 'We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun,' Durocher said. 'We do not know where these trucks are now, or whether they have arrived in France. 'We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision.' Since Trump replaced Biden in the White House in January, his administration has dismantled USAID, with help from his former adviser, the world's richest person Elon Musk. French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it has a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider. But Veolia emphasised that the contract concerns 'only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile' in Belgium. Advertisement The products, which are mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring. French disposal company Suez meanwhile told AFP that it 'does not provide waste management services for all contraceptive products purchased by USAID'. The US plan has provoked outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their governments to prevent the contraceptives from being destroyed. 'France cannot become the scene of such operations – a moratorium is essential,' said an opinion article in the newspaper Le Monde on Friday signed by five NGOs including MSI Reproductive Choices, condemning the 'absurdity' of the US decision. Charles Dallara, the grandson of the politician who legislated in favour of the contraceptive pill in France in 1967, went on French television on Friday to urge President Emmanuel Macron to act. Macron has yet to make an official statement on the contraceptives, but the country's health ministry has said it is 'closely monitoring the situation'. A petition launched by French feminist groups and unions on Wednesday calling for the contraceptives to be saved has been signed by more than 10,000 people.
