SURIN, Thailand: Renewed fighting raged at the border of Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday (Dec 11), with combat heard near centuries-old temples, ahead of United States President Donald Trump’s planned phone call to the two nations’ leaders.
At least 15 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the reignited border conflict, officials said.
More than half a million people, mostly in Thailand, have fled border areas near where jets, tanks and drones have waged battle.
The Southeast Asian nations dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km frontier, where both sides claim a smattering of historic temples.
This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, following intervention by Trump.
The US president said he expected to speak on Thursday with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to demand a halt to their renewed clashes.
“I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Both sides blame the other for reigniting the conflict, which has expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP tally of official accounts.
In Thailand’s northeast on Thursday morning, hundreds of evacuated families woke up inside a university building in Surin city that has been transformed into a shelter.
A few older women pounded chilli paste while volunteers stirred big pots of food.
Nearby, 61-year-old farmer Rat, who declined to give her last name, said she had to leave her home before she could plant a cassava crop this season, fleeing with her family of eight.
“I just want to go home and farm again,” she told AFP.
“Every time the fighting starts, it feels like life gets paused all over again.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cambodia-thailand-conflict-fighting-rages-border-ahead-expected-trump-call-5575476
