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PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and Thailand traded accusations of fresh clashes along their border on Wednesday, after Bangkok said it was pausing the implementation of a US-backed peace deal.
Five days of hostilities erupted between Thailand and Cambodia this summer, killing 43 people and displacing around 300,000 before a truce backed by US President Donald Trump took effect.
However, Thailand on Monday paused implementation of a follow-on deal to wind down hostilities, claiming a blast from a newly laid land mine had wounded four of its soldiers.
Just two days later, officials on both sides have reported gunfire across the boundary between Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province and Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province.
“Thai soldiers opened fire on civilians,” Cambodian information minister Neth Pheaktra said, citing a toll from local authorities that reported five wounded.
Royal Thai Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said Cambodian soldiers “fired shots into Thai territory” around 4:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) and that its troops “took cover and fired warning shots in response.”
“The incident lasted about 10 minutes before calm was restored,” he said in a statement. “No Thai casualties were reported.”
Cambodia’s information ministry shared images and video which it alleged showed wounded civilians, including one man being treated in an ambulance with a bloodied leg.
AFP was not able to verify the provenance of the images.
‘I am so frightened’
Cambodian villager Hul Malis said by phone that gunfire from across the border had wounded at least three people in her area.
“They just shot at us. We did nothing,” she said. “I am so frightened, I am running away now.”
Her husband, Thong Kimleang, said the Thai military “fired a lot of shots” for around 15 minutes.
The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia centers on a century-old disagreement over their borders mapped during France’s colonial rule in the region, with both sides claiming a smattering of border temples.
Back in July, the region ignited with open combat along the frontier waged with fighter jets, missile strikes and ground troops.
A truce began on July 29 after intervention by Trump, as well as Chinese diplomats and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.
They signed a joint declaration last month, agreeing to withdraw heavy weapons and allowing ceasefire monitors access to the border.
While experts said the deal failed to adjudicate the core territorial dispute, Trump flew into Kuala Lumpur to oversee the pact he cited as evidence of his presidential peace-making abilities.
But the apparent fresh land mine blast and renewed clashes have thrown its future into doubt.
Thailand has already delayed the release of 18 captured Cambodian soldiers, a key plank of the joint declaration.