Tens of thousands flee from fighting along Thai-Cambodian border; death toll rises

[Starmix]

According to the report, tens of thousands of people sought refuge as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday, heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching 32. According to Associated Press, a village in the district of Phanom Dong Rak, some six miles from the frontier, was deserted with its community displaced by the fighting. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs the 10-nation regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate. The council did not issue a statement, but a council diplomat said all 15 members called on the parties to de-escalate, show restraint, and resolve the dispute peacefully. The council also urged the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, to help resolve the border fighting, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The Thai Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 people have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 23,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border.

The report also said that the latest flare-up in a long-running border dispute between the two countries has killed at least 19 people in Thailand — mostly civilians —while Cambodia said Saturday that 12 more people have been killed on its side, bringing its death toll to 13.Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, said Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians and damage caused to a hospital. He said Thailand had exercised the “utmost restraint and patience in the face of provocations and aggression” from Cambodia. Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday.


Watch the report via the link.