MADRID, 9 (EUROPA PRESSE)
The latest clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border have left at least ten dead and dozens injured in both countries, which have seen a surge in violence after Thai forces attacked Cambodian positions over the weekend after reporting the death of one of their soldiers at the hands of the neighboring country’s troops.
The Thai army, which estimates the number of wounded at nearly thirty, indicated that two other soldiers died in the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, where they were hit by artillery fire.
Thus, he indicated that the deceased are Wayu Kwansue and Chawakorn Detchkhunthot, who died due to the seriousness of the injuries suffered during these clashes. These deaths are in addition to that of another soldier who died the day before.
Tension continues to grow in the region, even as the international community has called on both countries to stick to agreements reached this summer and act with caution. The Cambodian authorities, for their part, reported seven deaths and nearly twenty injured on their territory and “strongly” condemned the attacks which they described as “inhuman and brutal”.
It is for this reason that they once again accused Bangkok of violating the ceasefire and the joint declaration signed on October 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Thai attacks focused on Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey, on the border between the two countries.
The situation has led thousands of residents to evacuate border districts due to the possibility of a resurgence of attacks, according to reports from ‘The Khmer Times’ newspaper.
The head of the Thai army, for his part, assured that his objective was to “invalidate Cambodia’s military capabilities for the future”, an issue which is based on the idea of ”preserving the security of future generations”, as he asserted.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Thailand and Cambodia to act “with restraint and avoid further escalation.”
In the words of his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, he was “concerned (…) about the new armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, in particular air attacks and the mobilization of heavy equipment in the border area” and regretted that “there are already numerous victims and displacements on both sides of the border”.
In this sense, he reminded the two governments that “they must protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid”, he asked them to “return to the framework of the agreement” signed in the Malaysian capital and he expressed the organization’s desire to “support all efforts aimed at promoting peace (…) in the region”.
The two countries have exchanged multiple accusations of provocations in recent weeks on the border between the two countries, reviving the July escalation that led to the aforementioned agreement and which led in just five days to the deaths of fifty people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands, in what was the most intense clashes between the two countries in more than a decade.
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