Thai-Cambodian fighting spreads along disputed border

• Cambodia says two civilians were killed overnight.
• A Thai soldier is killed in action.
• Each side blames the other for conflicts.
  

Thailand said it was taking action to expel Cambodian forces from its territory on Tuesday, as fresh fighting between the two Southeast Asian neighbors spread along the disputed border.

Each side has blamed the other for the clashes, which have derailed a fragile ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump that ended five days of fighting in July.

Cambodia’s defense ministry said two civilians were killed overnight, bringing the death toll to six. A Thai soldier was killed in the fighting.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Thai Navy said Cambodian forces had been located inside Thai territory in the coastal province of Trat and had launched military operations to expel them, without giving further details.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Maneh said late Monday that Thailand “should not use military force to attack civilian villages under the pretext of regaining its sovereignty.”

Earlier, Cambodia said it had not responded even as its forces came under repeated attacks.

The Thai Navy said Cambodian forces were increasing their presence, deploying snipers and heavy weapons, improving fortified positions and digging trenches, adding that it viewed the actions “as an immediate and serious threat to Thailand’s sovereignty”.

Monday’s clashes were the fiercest since a five-day exchange of rockets and heavy artillery in July, when at least 48 people were killed and 300,000 displaced, before Trump stepped in to broker a ceasefire.

Thailand evacuated 438,000 citizens in five border provinces, and authorities in Cambodia said hundreds of thousands of people had been moved to safety. The Thai military said 18 soldiers were injured and the Cambodian government said nine civilians were injured.

Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century disputed sovereignty over unspecified points along the 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border, with disputes over ancient temples fueling nationalist fervor and occasional armed flare-ups, including a deadly week-long exchange of artillery in 2011.

Tensions rose in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a skirmish, which led to a large troop buildup at the border and escalated into diplomatic debacle and armed conflict.