Thailand and Cambodia have reported new fighting in their ongoing border conflict, as the first talks between the sides since the latest outbreak of violence get under way.
Thailand’s military said on Wednesday that there had been clashes in the border provinces of Sisaket and Surin, Thai media reported, with Thai forces responding to Cambodian BM-21 rocket attacks with artillery, tank fire and drones.
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One Thai soldier was injured in the Pha Mo I Daeng–Huai Ta Maria area of Sisaket province, the Thai army said, before Thai forces returned fire, striking more than 19 Cambodian military targets.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said Thai forces had carried out air attacks on Banan district in the northwestern border province of Battambang, hitting a civilian residential area with four bombs.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Education also released a video showing what it said were scenes of panic at a school in the province, with students fleeing as the air raid was carried out.
Further, the ministry said two civilians had been injured by Thai shelling in Banteay Meanchey province, the Khmer Times reported.
Talks begin
The latest fighting came just before a meeting of defence officials began on Wednesday at the Ban Pakkad-Pailin border crossing between the countries.
The talks are the first between the sides since renewed clashes broke out on December 7, killing more than 40 people and displacing about a million, according to official counts.
The two sides agreed on Monday to hold the talks, within the framework of an existing bilateral border committee, the Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee, following a regional push to end the fighting.
Reporting from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig said that the meeting was underway, with ASEAN countries acting as observers, but was not expected to yield any major breakthrough.
“It’s very important to be clear about what this meeting is and isn’t. It’s between defence and military officials, not politicians,” he said.
“This isn’t a forum where a ceasefire can be agreed or signed.”
At best, he said, the talks would be about “stabilising the situation, clarifying incidents between the parties and keeping those lines of communication open”.
Any agreement on a ceasefire would have to come from the political leaders in Bangkok and Phnom Penh, he said, “and that’s where outside pressure comes in.”
The US, China and ASEAN countries had all been speaking to both countries, urging a resolution to the conflict.
So far though, he said, “both sides are still locked in the blame game”.
Thailand and Cambodia have engaged in daily exchanges of rocket and artillery fire along their 817km (508-mile) land border following the collapse earlier this month of a truce brokered by the United States and Malaysia that put an end to five days of fighting in July.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.
Each side has blamed the other for instigating the renewed fighting, claiming self-defence, while trading accusations of attacks on civilians.
Thailand accused of demolishing Hindu statue
Meanwhile, a Cambodian official has accused Thailand of destroying a Hindu statue in a disputed border area, condemning the destruction of items of religious significance.
Kim Chanpanha, a government spokesman in the border province of Preah Vihear, said the statue of Vishnu, built in 2014, was demolished by Thai forces on Monday.
“We condemn the destruction of ancient temples and statues that are worshipped by Buddhist and Hindu followers,” Chanpanha said.
Videos showing the demolition of the statue using a backhoe loader circulated on social media.
The Thai military has not commented on the incident, but released a statement rejecting Cambodian claims that it was using cluster munitions intended to harm civilians.
The statement said its cluster munitions were dual-purpose artillery shells used against military targets, in line with the principles of “military necessity” and “proportionality”.
It added that the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which prohibits signatories from using such weapons, was not applicable as neither Thailand nor Cambodia was a party to the agreement.
