Fighting on the Cambodia-Thailand border intensifies despite pressure from Trump: more than 50 dead

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Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia on the border has left at least 52 people dead, surpassing losses from July clashes.

Thailand reports 19 soldiers and 16 civilians dead, while Cambodia confirms 17 civilian deaths, including a child.

The conflict responds to a historic dispute over the sovereignty of border territories and is aggravated by aerial bombardments and cross accusations.

Despite international pressure and the mediation of Donald Trump, the violence continues and the two camps accuse each other of having started the attacks.

The armed conflict waged by the armies of Thailand and Cambodia on the border territory ends at least 52 deada figure which already exceeds the number of deaths caused by the confrontation between the two countries in July, with 50 deaths.

Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command on Wednesday raised the number of Thai soldiers dead to 19 and kept the number of civilians at 16, while Cambodian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata reported 17 civilian deaths, including a child.

Official figures put the number of deaths due to the conflict at more than fifty, which responds to the historic dispute that the two countries perpetuate over the sovereignty of territories close to their common borderapproximately 820 kilometers long and mapped by France in 1907, when Cambodia was part of French Indochina.

Phnom Penh assured today that Thai forces had “intensified their attacks” at certain points of the border in recent hours and stressed that they had carried out new bombings with F-16 fighter jets.

In addition to an armed battle, the two neighboring countries are engaged in a war of numbers: Cambodia avoids releasing information on deceased soldiers, while Thai authorities claim that there are more than 500 victims on the opposite side.

Police officers rescue a man on the island of Sumatra, affected by severe flooding.

Last week, Cambodian authorities dismissed as “false” reports of deaths among its soldiers published by Thailand, which the Defense Ministry alluded to There is also an “information war”according to local media this Wednesday.

The new wave of cross-attacks, the trigger for which is uncertain and which the two camps mutually accuse each other of having triggered, broke out on December 7 and now lasts 11 days, compared to five days that lasted the episode of violence in July, which ended after the mediation of several countries, including the United States.

The American president, Donald Trumpsaid late last week that the two countries had agreed to resume the ceasefire they signed under its auspices and expanded in October. But despite this intervention and appeals to Thai and Cambodian leaders, the conflict continues to escalate.

“(Trump) should first ask Cambodia to stop shooting at Thailand, because Thailand never shot first,” the Thai Prime Minister defended this Wednesday. Anutin Charnvirakulwho holds office on an interim basis after calling early elections.

The fragile truce was broken almost two weeks ago by a landmine that killed several Thai soldiers in the disputed border area. An explosive which, according to information from Bangkok, was planted by Phnom Penh forces only a few months ago.