Cambodia reports one civilian killed and three wounded in new border clashes with Thailand, threatening a fragile US-backed ceasefire deal
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and Thailand have accused each other of fresh border clashes, with Phnom Penh reporting one civilian shot dead.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said three civilians were also wounded in Wednesday’s hostilities along the Thailand-Cambodia border.
“The action goes against the humanitarian spirit and recent agreements to resolve border issues peacefully,” he stated on Facebook.
Thai authorities however blamed Cambodian troops for initiating the gunfire into Thai territory.
Royal Thai Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said Thai soldiers “took cover and fired warning shots in response”.
He reported the incident lasted about 10 minutes with no Thai casualties.
The clashes occurred along the boundary between Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province and Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province.
Cambodia’s information ministry shared images and video allegedly showing wounded civilians, including one man with a bloodied leg being treated in an ambulance.
Cambodian villager Hul Malis told AFP by phone that gunfire from across the border had wounded at least three people in her area.
“They just shot at us. We did nothing,” she said. “I am so frightened, I am running away now.”
Her husband Thong Kimleang reported the Thai military “fired a lot of shots” for around 15 minutes.
These latest clashes come just two days after Thailand paused implementation of a US-backed peace deal.
Bangkok suspended the agreement following a landmine blast that wounded four Thai soldiers on Monday.
Five days of combat between Thailand and Cambodia this summer killed 43 people and displaced around 300,000.
A truce backed by US President Donald Trump took effect on July 29 after intervention by multiple parties.
The joint declaration signed last month included withdrawing heavy weapons and allowing ceasefire monitors access.
Thailand has already delayed the release of 18 captured Cambodian soldiers, a key part of the agreement.
The century-old border dispute centres on temples mapped during France’s colonial rule in the region. – AFP
