Thailand confirms first civilian death in week of Cambodia fighting
Sixty-three-year-old man dies after Cambodian forces fire rockets into a civilian area.
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Sixty-three-year-old man dies after Cambodian forces fire rockets into a civilian area.
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BANTEAY MEANCHEY, Cambodia (AFP) — Thailand on Sunday announced its first civilian death in a week of fighting with Cambodia, as international efforts fail to stop violence that has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
The latest killing comes a day after Bangkok denied United States President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed between the Southeast Asian neighbors.
The conflict, rooted in a colonial-era demarcation dispute along their 800-kilometer border, has displaced around 800,000 people, officials said.
“I have been here for six days and I feel sad that the fighting continues,” 63-year-old Sean Leap told Agence France-Presse (AFP) at an evacuation center in Cambodia’s border province of Banteay Meanchey.
“I want it to stop,” he said, adding he was worried about his home and livestock.
At least 27 people have been killed, including 15 Thai soldiers and 11 Cambodian civilians, officials said Sunday.
A Thai civilian killed in Sisaket province was the first non-military death recorded in the country since the latest round of fighting began on 7 December, health ministry spokesperson Ekachai Piensriwatchara confirmed to AFP.
The Thai army said the 63-year-old man was killed by shrapnel after Cambodian forces fired rockets into a civilian area.
Each side has blamed the other for instigating the clashes, claiming self-defense and trading accusations of attacks on civilians.
Trump, who earlier backed a truce and follow-on agreement, said Friday the two countries had agreed to stop fighting.
But Thai leaders later said no ceasefire deal was made, and both governments said Sunday that clashes were ongoing.
Thai defense ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said Cambodia shelled and bombed several border provinces overnight.
The Thai military has imposed a curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. in parts of Sa Kaeo and Trat provinces.
Cambodia, which is outgunned and outspent by Thailand’s military, said Thai forces had shelled and launched air strikes on Cambodian territory near the border on Sunday.
Closed border crossings
After Trump’s promised truce did not come to pass, Cambodia shut its border crossings with Thailand on Saturday, leaving migrant workers stranded.
Under a makeshift tent at an evacuation site in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey, Cheav Sokun told AFP her husband in Thailand wanted to return home.
She and her son left Thailand alongside tens of thousands of other Cambodian migrant workers during deadly clashes in July, but her spouse stayed to work as a gardener with his “good Thai boss.”
“He asked me to return first. After that, the border was closed so he cannot come back,” the 38-year-old said.
In Thailand, officials said Sunday that nine civilians have died of non-combat-related causes after evacuating from their homes.
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered a ceasefire in late July.
