Cambodia and Thailand exchanged attacks Thursday morning as tensions between the two countries that have been rising over the past few days turned deadly.
The Royal Thai Army said in a statement that Cambodian forces opened fire near the ancient Ta Muen Temple, located along the disputed Thai-Cambodia border at 8:20 a.m. local time.
Since then, it has reported continued military clashes.
At least three Thai citizens were injured when two Cambodia-launched BM-21 rockets hit a community area within the Border Development Center in Kap Choeng District, Surin Province, at 9:40 a.m. local time, the army said.
The Royal Thai Army published images online showing a wooden building with shattered windows and a pool of blood on the ground.
It said residents had been evacuated from the area.
Thailand’s 2nd Regional Military Command reported on Facebook that there were “clashes happening all along the front lines” involving “both small guns and heavy weapons.”
“One Thai soldier has been injured,” it said.
The Thai military has deployed F-16 fighter jets, which the military command said had “destroyed” a Cambodian brigade.
The fighting began Thursday after members of the Thai task force reported hearing sounds of a Cambodian drone circling the temple, which was followed by six Cambodian soldiers, armed with weapons, including RPGs, approaching a barbed-wire area near a Thai operations base.
“Thai forces employed verbal negotiations through loudspeakers to avoid conflict and prevent escalation of the situation while maintaining vigilance along the entire border line in preparation for any developments,” the Royal Thai Army said in a statement.
This is a developing story.
