Latest news with #NattaponNarkphanit
AFP
a day ago
- Politics
- AFP
Video shows hornbills in southern Thailand, not 'vultures feeding on soldiers' bodies'
"Many vultures and crows are tearing at the corpses of (Thai) soldiers," reads part of the Khmer-language caption of a Facebook video shared on August 5, 2025. "Please, Thai soldiers, come and take the bodies away. Stop harming your own people. They have families to look after!" The video, which has been viewed over a million times, shows birds densely perched on a tree. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on August 9, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The same footage was also shared in similar Khmer-language posts on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. It emerged after Thailand and Cambodia agreed a truce that came into effect on July 29, following five days of clashes that killed at least 43 people on both sides and drove more than 300,000 from their homes (archived link). The clashes -- the latest eruption of a long-standing border dispute -- also kicked off a disinformation blitz as Thai and Cambodian partisans sought to boost the narrative that the other was to blame (archived link). Following the truce, Thailand's deputy defence minister Nattapon Narkphanit called on Cambodia to retrieve the bodies of its fallen troops at the border and Cambodian social media users also claimed the corpses of Thai soldiers had been left at the frontier (archived here and here). The circulating video, however, predates the latest border clashes and does not show "vultures and crows". Flock of hornbills A reverse image search using the keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a higher-quality version posted by Thai photographer Somchai Choosiri on Facebook on July 21 (archived link). Its caption reads: "A large group of plain-pouched hornbills flock and sleep closely together." The video was labelled as having been filmed in Phatthalung, a province in the south of Thailand -- hundreds of kilometres from the Thai-Cambodian border. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and Somchai Chusiri's Facebook video (right) A watermark -- reading "Somchai Choosiri" and "Photographer" -- is also visible at the bottom of both the falsely shared clip and the original video. Image Screenshot of the video, with Somchai Choosiri's watermark highlighted by AFP The sight of migrating plain-pouched hornbills was also covered by local news reports and wildlife authorities (archived here and here). According to their entry in a database run by conservation alliance Birdlife International, plain-pouched hornbills have a varied diet, mainly comprising fruit but also invertebrates and small vertebrates (archived link). AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
Bangkok Post
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Cambodia urged to honour its dead and collect their bodies
Deputy Defence Minister Nattapon Narkphanit has called on the Cambodian government to honour its soldiers who fell in the border clashes with Thailand by retrieving their bodies without delay. Gen Nattapon said at Government House on Monday morning that he had informed the Cambodian defence minister during their meeting in Malaysia on Sunday that many Cambodian soldiers had been killed and their bodies had not been retrieved but were left at the Thai frontier. The bodies should be properly collected to honour their sacrifice and in respect for their dignity, the deputy defence minister said. Gen Nattapon said Thailand had properly collected Cambodian soldiers' bodies and repatriated them with military honour, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. He felt sorry for the Cambodian dead, because their government denied they were Cambodian soldiers. 'I feel sorry for these Cambodian soldiers who lost their lives, sorry that the Cambodian government has rejected them… I am a military officer. Although we are conflicting parties, we must honour the deceased. "We see the condition of these [dead] Cambodian soldiers, lying in front of us every day during patrols. So, I repeat my serious request to the Cambodian defence minister for their quick retrieval,' Gen Nattapon said. Further delay in collecting the bodies would not only demean their honour and dignity but also pose a health threat to nearby Cambodian villages, Gen Nattapon said. RAdm Surasant Kongsiri, spokesman for the Ad Hoc Centre for the Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation, said that by discarding its soldiers' bodies the Cambodian government violated international humanitarian norms, the dignity of the Cambodian armed forces and Cambodia's Buddhist and cultural practices concerning body disposal. 'Neglecting fallen soldiers reflects a sad disregard for the dignity of Cambodia's own armed forces. This, of course, damages the morale of Cambodian troops and affects the families of the deceased. "A lot of family members are actually searching for loved ones, people who actually have been lost as a result of the armed conflict. So far, the Cambodian authorities have not shown any sign that they will help find the bodies of those lost ones," RAdm Surasant said.
