Surin, Thailand – Tens of thousands of people have sought evacuation as the battle with the border between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day on Saturday, raising fears of a total conflict that reached 32 total deaths.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York, but Malaysia chaired 10 regional blocs, including both countries, to end hostilities and offer to mediate.
The council did not issue a statement, but the council’s diplomats said all 15 members had been called to the parties to curb the conflict and settle the conflict peacefully. The council also urged regional blocs, the association of Southeast Asian countries known as ASEAN, to help resolve border combat, the diplomat discussed on condition of anonymity as the meeting was private.
Cambodia’s UN ambassador, Chair Kaew, later told reporters that his country, who called for an emergency meeting, “sought an unconditional immediate ceasefire and a peaceful solution to the conflict.”
He responded to accusations that Cambodia attacked Thailand, and that a small country without an air force would attack a much larger country with an army three times its size, and that “we won’t do that.”
Seeking suppression
Keo said the Security Council has called on both sides to exercise “reliance on maximum restraint and diplomatic resolution.”
Asked what he was expecting next, the ambassador said, “Let’s see how the call sounds to all the members there.”
Thailand’s UN ambassador to the United Nations left the meeting without stopping talking to reporters.
On Friday, the Thai province said more than 58,000 people fled from the village to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 23,000 people had evacuated from areas near the border.
The latest blaze in the long-term border conflict between the two countries has killed at least 19 people in Thailand – mostly civilians – Cambodia said on Saturday that a further 12 people were killed on its side, bringing the death toll to 13.
Thai acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Friday that Cambodia could be guilty of war crimes due to civilian deaths and damages caused by hospitals. He said Thailand exercised “the greatest restraint and patience in the face of provocation and attacks” from Cambodia.
Tensions broke out over the conflict-border area after land mines along the border injured five Thai soldiers on Wednesday.
A collision occurs
Thai forces reported clashes early on Friday in several areas along the border, including near the ancient Muen Thom temple that both sides alleged. Associated Press reporters near the border were able to hear the sounds of cannons from early in the morning.
The Thai Army said Cambodian forces were using heavy guns and Russian-made BM-21 rocket launchers, prompting what Thai officials described as “appropriate support fires.”
Thailand said six soldiers and 13 civilians were killed while 29 soldiers and 30 civilians were injured.
Earlier on Saturday, General Marie Sochita, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense, told reporters on Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers died in two days of combat. It previously reported one death – a man killed when the pagoda he had been hiding was attacked by the Thai Rockets.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Education claimed that two Tyrockets collided with school grounds in Odar Sheen Chee on Friday but were not injured. He said all schools in the state are closed.
The Thai Army denied targeting Cambodian civilian sites and accused Cambodia of using “human shields” by placing weapons near residential areas.
Thousands flee the village
As the battle got stronger, the villagers on both sides were caught up in crossfires, and many began to escape.
About 600 people have evacuated to the university gymnasium of a university in Surin, Thailand, about 50 miles from the border. Evacuees sat on groups, mats and blankets, waiting in line for food and drinks.
The tailor’s porn panties soukra was accompanied by four cats on two fabric carriers. She said she was doing laundry at her home near Ta Muen Temple when the fire began on Thursday.
“I’ve just heard of it, boom, boom. We already had cages, clothes, etc., so we ran and carried things into the car. I was scared, scared.”
Another evacuee, Rattana Meein, said she also experienced a 2011 clash between the two countries, but said the flare was bad.
“The kids, the old man, were suddenly attacked,” she said. “I never imagined this was this violence.”
At nearby Phanom Dongluk Hospital, a military truck arrived along with three injured Thai soldiers, including those who had amputated both legs, heard a regular explosion on Friday. The fire on Thursday smashed windows and damaged roofs in one of the hospital buildings.
In neighbouring Sisaket, more villagers took their belongings and left the house in the stream of cars, trucks and motorbikes after receiving an evacuation order on Friday.
Crossing the Cambodian border, the village on the outskirts of Oddal Jeansi Province was largely abandoned. The house was trapped while the chickens and dogs were roaming outside.
Some villagers previously dug holes, created makeshift underground bunkers, covered with wood, tarpaulin and zinc sheets, and protected themselves from artillery fire. Several men refused to leave, but families with children were evacuating with their belongings packed in a homemade tractor.
Surrounded by rice fields, the remote Buddhist temple housed hundreds of evacuated villagers. The woman was resting in a hammock, with several embracing babies and children running around. A makeshift plastic tent was set up under the tree.
Veng Chin, 74, appealed to both governments to negotiate a settlement “so I can go back to my home and work on the farm.”
