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United Nations Security Council held a closed-door meeting with Thailand and Cambodia on Friday. Cambodia has expressed its willingness for a ceasefire.
Thailand-Cambodia conflict: UNSC holds emergency meet as fighting continues (Reuters Image)
Thailand and Cambodia continued their fighting for the third straight day on Saturday, as the death toll in the deadly fighting rose to 33. Phnom Penh has said that it was ready for an “immediate ceasefire, unconditionally”.
A decades-long border dispute between the two countries erupted into an intense military confrontation involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, after which the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Friday.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said that 13 people have been killed in the clashes so far, which included 8 civilians and 5 soldiers. As many as 71 people sustained injuries in the fighting, news agency AFP reported.
In Thailand, five soldiers were killed on Friday, bringing the death toll to 20, which included 14 civilians and six military personnel.
With the death toll across the two countries crossing the 30 mark, it became higher than the 28 killed in the previous major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.
Both sides said a fight happened around 5:00 am. Cambodia claimed that Thai forces fired five large artillery shells into areas in Pursat province, which is next to Thailand’s Trat province — a coastal area about 250 kilometers southwest of the main conflict zone.
The ongoing conflict has forced over 138,000 people to be evicted from Thailand’s border areas, while over 35,000 people were relocated in Cambodia.
As the fighting turned deadly, the Indian Embassy in Cambodia issued an advisory on Saturday for the Indian nationals living in the country.
“In view of the ongoing clashes at the Cambodia-Thailand border, Indian nationals are advised to avoid traveling to the border areas. In case of any emergency, Indian nationals may approach the Embassy of India, Phnom Penh at +855 92881676 or email cons.phnompenh@mea.gov.in,” the Embassy said.
After Friday’s UNSC meeting in New York, Cambodia’s UN ambassador Chhea Keo said that his country was willing to have a ceasefire.
“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire — unconditionally — and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” he told reporters.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said on Saturday that Cambodia needed to show “genuine sincerity in ending the conflict” if it wants any ceasefire or talks to proceed.
“I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue,” Maris told reporters, AFP reported.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said on Friday ahead of the UNSC meet that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia.
Both sides are blaming each other for starting the attack. Thailand says Cambodia targeted civilian places — including a hospital that was hit by shells and a petrol station struck by at least one rocket. Meanwhile, Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster bombs, which are banned in many countries because they are dangerous to civilians.
The fighting is a major increase in a long-running border dispute between the two countries, which are both popular with millions of foreign tourists.
They share an 800-kilometre border, and there are several areas where both sides claim the land.
Between 2008 and 2011, clashes broke out, killing at least 28 people and forcing tens of thousands to leave their homes.
A UN court ruling in 2013 helped calm the situation for over 10 years, but tensions flared up again in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.
(With AFP inputs)
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes…Read More
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes… Read More
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