Fighting erupted again for the fifth consecutive day today, with Cambodian forces launching rocket and artillery attacks on two Thai army positions in the northeastern provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket, the Second Army Region reports.
Starting at 5.30am, Cambodia fired artillery shells, rockets and small arms at Thai soldiers on Mount 500, a hilltop base in above the Chong Bok border pass in Ubon Ratchathani.
Simultaneously, Cambodia also shelled Ban Komut, located to the south of Phu Makua in Si Sa Ket. No further details about the two incidents were available at the time of this report.
Last night, the ‘Army Military Force’ website reported that Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jets bombed a former casino in Banteay Ampil district, in Oddar Meanchey province of Cambodia and Thai artillery fired at a nearby oil depot, opposite the Chong Sai Taku border pass in Ban Kruat district of Buri Ram.
Both the former casino and the oil depot were allegedly being used by Cambodian forces as a base for the launch of sacrificial drones and for the storage of heavy weaponry, munitions and BM-21 multiple rocket launcher systems (MLRS).
A huge plume of flames lit up the night sky after the oil depot sustained a direct hit, according to the reports.
The operations centre of the First Army Region presented a summary of the border situation in Sa Kaeo province on Wednesday, saying that, in Ban Klong Phaeng of Ta Phraya district, the task force’s 11th unit managed to seize only partial control of the village, due to heavy resistance from Cambodian forces. More than 80 BM-21 rockets rained down on the disputed village.
In Ban Nong Ya Kaew village, in Khok Sung district, which was seized by troops of the task force’s 12th unit on Monday, was hit by more than 20 BM-21 rockets, causing damage to crops.
In Ban Nong Chan, in Khok Sung district, troops from the task force’s 12th unit engaged in fierce fighting with Cambodian forces. At about 10am, an Air Force F-16 bombed a Cambodian field command post, causing heavy damage.
In Ban Klong Luek, in Aranyaprathet district, sporadic clashes involving small arms were reported.
In Klong Haat district, the task force’s 13th unit guarding the area spotted three Cambodian armoured personnel carriers and called for artillery support to drive them back.
More than 180,000 people, or 83% of the population of Aranyaprathet, Khok Sung, Ta Phraya and Klong Haat districts, have been evacuated to emergency shelters.
About 800 Cambodian civilians living at Rong Klua market in Aranyaprathet streamed back home in Cambodia trough the Klong Luek border checkpoint.
