Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash

Yahoo

7 days ago

SURIN, Thailand — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday, heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching 32.
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors later Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs the 10-nation regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate.
The council did not issue a statement but a council diplomat said all 15 members called on the parties to deescalate, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully. The council also urged the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN, to help resolve the border fighting, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.
Cambodia's U.N. Ambassador Chhea Keo told reporters afterward that his country, which called for the emergency meeting, 'asked for immediate ceasefires, unconditionally, and we also call for the peaceful solution to the dispute.'
He responded to accusations that Cambodia attacked Thailand asking how a small country with no air force could attack a much larger country with an army three times its size, stressing, 'We do not do that.'
Keo said the Security Council called for both sides to exercise 'maximum restraint and resort to diplomatic solution' which is what Cambodia is calling for as well.
Asked what he expects next, the ambassador said: 'Let's see how the call can be heard by all the members there.'
Thailand's U.N. ambassador left the meeting without stopping to talk to reporters.
The Thai Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 23,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border.
The latest flare-up in a long-running border dispute between the two countries has killed at least 19 people in Thailand — mostly civilians —while Cambodia confirmed its first fatality Friday. Early Saturday, Cambodian officials reported 12 new deaths in addition to the one death it reported earlier, bringing death toll on both sides to 32.
Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, said Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians and damage caused to a hospital. He said Thailand had exercised the 'utmost restraint and patience in the face of provocations and aggression' from Cambodia.
Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday.
The conflict marks a rare instance of armed confrontation between ASEAN member countries though Thailand has tangled with Cambodia before over the border and has had sporadic skirmishes with western neighbor Myanmar.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to a ceasefire and to withdraw their troops from the border, but requested more time before implementing the action, according to a report by Malaysia's Bernama national news agency.
Anwar said he had spoken to both Cambodian leader Hun Manet and Thailand's Phumtham and urged them to open space for 'peaceful dialogue and diplomatic resolution,' while offering to have Malaysia facilitate talks.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also called for restraint and urged both countries to resolve disputes through dialogue, according to U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Solve the daily Crossword