Thai army says Cambodia claims new border strike was accident amid truce

Thai subject says solider wounded successful mortar onslaught successful disputed borderline area.

Thailand’s service says Cambodia has claimed that a caller onslaught was an accident, aft a Thai worker was wounded successful a mortar onslaught successful a disputed borderline region, arsenic a ceasefire agreed successful precocious December continues to hold.

On Tuesday morning, Thai forces had accused their Cambodian counterparts of violating the 10-day-old truce, aft bombarding a borderline province.

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But successful a aboriginal statement, the Thai subject said the Cambodian broadside had contacted them to explicate “there was nary volition to occurrence into Thai territory”, adding that “the incidental was caused by an operational mistake by Cambodian personnel.”

Thailand’s service accused Cambodian forces of firing mortar rounds into Ubon Ratchathani province, with 1 worker wounded by shrapnel and evacuated for aesculapian treatment.

“The Thai subject portion successful the country issued a informing to Cambodia to workout caution and emphasised that if specified errors hap again, Thailand whitethorn beryllium compelled to transportation retired antiaircraft countermeasures,” said the Thai army.

Longstanding simmering conflict

The decades-old quality betwixt the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted into subject clashes respective times past year, with warring successful December sidesplitting dozens of radical and displacing astir 1 cardinal connected some sides.

The 2 countries agreed a truce connected December 27, ending 3 weeks of clashes.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata declined to remark connected the alleged onslaught connected Tuesday.

The nations’ longstanding struggle stems from a quality implicit the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) border, wherever some sides assertion territory and centuries-old temple ruins.

Under the December truce, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to ceasefire, frost unit movements and cooperate connected demining efforts on their border.

Bangkok besides released 18 Cambodian soldiers held since July, erstwhile deadly borderline clashes that period killed dozens of people.

Thailand freed the Cambodian soldiers connected December 31, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying their merchandise was “a objection of goodwill and confidence-building”.

Phnom Penh said past week it remained “hopeful” that their merchandise would “significantly lend to gathering communal trust”.

The United States, China and Malaysia had brokered a truce to extremity the warring betwixt Cambodia and Thailand successful July, but that ceasefire was short-lived.

In October, US President Donald Trump jetted to Malaysia to oversee the signing of a follow-on declaration, touting caller commercialized deals aft the neighbours agreed to prolong their truce.

But Bangkok suspended the statement the pursuing month, aft Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines portion connected patrol astatine the border.

On Saturday, 1 week aft the December truce went into effect, Cambodia called connected Thailand to propulsion retired its forces from respective borderline areas Phnom Penh claims arsenic its own.

The Thai subject has rejected claims it had utilized unit to prehend Cambodian territory, insisting its forces were contiguous successful areas that had ever belonged to Thailand.

While the 2 nations agreed precocious past period to halt fighting, they inactive request to resoluteness the demarcation of their disputed border.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said successful a connection Tuesday greeting that Phnom Penh had projected a bilateral borderline committee gathering with Thai counterparts to beryllium held successful Cambodia’s Siem Reap state this month.

Bangkok has said antecedently that meetings to sermon borderline surveying and demarcation whitethorn request to beryllium held by Thailand’s adjacent government, pursuing elections scheduled for February 8.