Thailand yesterday accused Cambodia of violating a 10-day-old truce, saying cross-border mortar fire wounded a soldier, while Phnom Penh said a “pile of garbage” exploded, injuring two of its own troops.
The Thai military said it warned Cambodian forces to exercise caution, stressing that if a similar incident occurred, Thailand might need to retaliate.
A decades-old border dispute between the Southeast Asian nations erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting last month killing dozens of people and displacing about 1 million on both sides.
Photo: AFP / Agence Kampuchea Press
The two nations agreed a fragile truce on Dec. 27, ending three weeks of clashes.
“Cambodia has violated the ceasefire,” the Thai army said in a statement, accusing Cambodian forces of firing mortar rounds into Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Province.
One Thai soldier was hospitalized due to non-life-threatening shrapnel wounds to his right arm, the army said.
The Thai army in a separate statement said that the Cambodian side had contacted a Thai military unit and claimed “there was no intention to fire into Thai territory,” adding “the incident was caused by an operational error by Cambodian personnel.”
Cambodian Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman Maly Socheata said two Cambodian soldiers were injured, one severely, yesterday morning when “an explosion occurred from a pile of garbage.”
The incident happened while Cambodian forces were performing “organization and orderliness” duties in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Province, which is opposite Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Province, she said in a statement.
The two injured soldiers were hospitalized.
Maly Socheata did not mention the strike alleged by Thailand, but said both nations’ border coordination teams had consulted on the incident involving the Cambodian soldiers and addressed the matter.
The explosion occurred in a frontier region known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both nations and Laos meet, she said.
A Cambodian soldier in May last year was killed in a firefight with Thai troops in the area, reigniting the border conflict.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his government had lodged a protest with Phnom Penh, stating “the truce was violated.”
“At the military-to-military level, we have been told the incident was an accident, but we are seeking clarification on how responsibility will be taken,” Anutin told reporters in Bangkok.
He added that Thailand had the “capability to respond” to Cambodia, which is vastly outgunned by its neighbor.
The nations’ long-standing conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km border, where both sides claim territory.
Under the truce, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts along the border.
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