Thai-Cambodian clashes enter third day, Buri Ram shelters filling up
Thailand and Cambodia remained engaged in cross-border military operations for a third consecutive day today. A Thai soldier has been killed and many others injured.
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Thailand and Cambodia remained engaged in cross-border military operations for a third consecutive day today. A Thai soldier has been killed and many others injured.
The decision by the Thai government to take all necessary military measures to defend Thai sovereignty following new border clashes with Cambodia was reached in what was described as a “war room” presided over by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Monday.
The Thai Navy insists that its military operations against Cambodia, in the eastern province of Trat, are in self-defence and are in full compliance with international rules of engagement, after Cambodian troops re-entered Thai territory with heavy weapons.
Tourism and Sports Minister Atthakorn Sirilattayakorn is adamant that the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games on Tuesday would impress not only Thai people but also all foreign delegates from 10 other ASEAN countries, while keeping the highlight of the show, cauldron lighting, in secret.
Kannavee Suebsang, the Fair Party’s lone MP and a vocal human rights critic of the government, is now at war with his own party after it ousted him as secretary-general for helping elect Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul as prime minister.
Thailand chef de mission Thana Chaiprasit welcomed the participation of Cambodian athletes in the 33rd SEA Games and expressed hope that the sport arena would be a platform for peace between two quarreling neigbouring countries.
With the clock ticking down to the start of the 33rd SEA Games on Tuesday, Thailand should have been swept up in hype and excitement.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today dismissed the possibility of immediate negotiations with Cambodia, as a senior Thai military general said the Thai army aims to disable Cambodia’s military capability “for a long time.”
Spearheaded by M113 armoured personnel carriers (APC), troops from Thailand’s Burapha Task Force smashed through the barbed-wire border fence into disputed areas in Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew villages, in Khom Sung district of Sa Kaeo province, as the border flare up escalates and spreads from the northeastern theatre into this eastern province.
Thailand will continue military action against Cambodia until the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are no longer under threat, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told members of the foreign diplomatic corps and international organisations today.
The First Army Region reported today that it has instructed the Burapha Task Force, which is responsible for overseeing border security in Thailand’s eastern region, to seize control of a disputed areas in Sa Kaeo province.
Cambodian residents of Oddar Meanchey province, which shares borders with Thailand’s Surin and Si Sa Ket provinces, began evacuating to shelters this morning following cross-border clashes with Thailand.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged Thailand and Cambodia to exercise maximum restraint and maintain open channels of communication following renewed border clashes between the two countries.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today pledged to take all necessary measures to protect Thailand’s sovereign and territorial integrity in the face of new border clashes with Cambodia.
After he cancelled his planned trip to the border, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called an emergency meeting with the top brass of the three armed forces at Government House this morning, to discuss the escalating tensions with Cambodia.
Thai F-16 fighter jets have bombed a Cambodian casino near the Chong An Ma border pass, in Nam Yuen district of Ubon Ratchathani, and a Cambodian cable car near Prasat Ta Khwai ancient ruins, in Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin today, in retaliation for Cambodian bombardments of Thai military and civilian targets along the border.