Bangkok (Thailand) [Thailand], December 8 (HBTV): Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodian military positions on Monday morning after Cambodian shelling killed a Thai soldier and injured several others along the tense border region, the Bangkok Post reported. According to the Royal Thai Army, Cambodian forces fired shells and rockets at Thai military and civilian areas around 7 am in the Chong Bok area of Nam Yuen district. One Thai soldier was killed, and four others were injured in the attack.
Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree said Thai troops returned fire and later deployed fighter jets to strike Cambodian positions in an effort to halt the incoming attacks, the Bangkok Post reported. He said the target was Cambodia’s arms-supporting positions in the Chong An Ma Pass, adding that those locations had used artillery and mortar launchers to attack the Thai side at Anupong Base, according to CNN.
The 2nd Army Region reported that around 8.30 am, rockets fired from Cambodian BM-21 launchers struck Ban Sai Tho 10 in the Ban Kruat district of Buri Ram province.
Cambodia, meanwhile, accused Thailand of initiating the violence.
‘It should be noted that this attack occurred after the Thai forces engaged in numerous provocative actions for many days,’ the Cambodian army said, claiming that Thai forces struck first at around 5.04 am.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence accused Thai military forces of launching ‘brutal and inhumane’ attacks on Cambodian troops along the border in Preah Vihear province, calling the incident a serious violation of the peace agreement signed during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
The clashes come only weeks after Thailand suspended a peace agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur in late October. The pact, witnessed by US President Donald Trump, had been described as a major diplomatic breakthrough. Thailand paused its commitments to the agreement in November after a landmine blast injured two of its soldiers.
The latest escalation also follows Trump’s recent remarks in Washington, where he claimed to have ‘settled 8 wars in 10 months because of the rights clearly given to the president of the United States.’ Cambodia and Thailand were among those he referenced.
Border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia date back decades, rooted in disputes over colonial-era maps. The frontier has seen repeated clashes, including a major flare-up in July involving jets, missiles and ground troops that killed dozens and displaced nearly 200,000 people. (ANI)