The Thai Army has dismissed as completely groundless a Cambodian allegation that Thai soldiers had crossed into Cambodian territory and thrown a grenade at Cambodian troops, injuring three of them.
Army spokesperson Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree said yesterday that Cambodia had claimed that seven Thai soldiers had crossed into the Chong Krang area of Phanom Dong Rak district in Surin province and thrown a hand grenade into a Cambodian military position.
The explosion allegedly injured three Cambodian soldiers.
The Thai Army then launched an urgent investigation and found that the explosion occurred on the Cambodian side of the border and was not caused by any action by Thai forces.
The spokesperson insisted that Thai troops were conducting a routine patrol to provide security for road construction on the Thai side of the border at the time of the incident.
They also observed Cambodian soldiers monitoring the Thai operation.
The army said that at about noon, Thai personnel heard an explosion from the Cambodian side, followed by confusion as Cambodian troops rushed to assist those injured in the blast. It stressed that Thai forces had not discharged any weapons or thrown any grenades.
Winthai said the army assessed that the explosion was likely caused when newly deployed Cambodian soldiers, who were unfamiliar with the hazardous terrain, accidentally stepped on one of their own landmines.
Winthai reiterated that the Thai Army remained committed to carrying out its duties in accordance with existing agreements, the rules governing the use of force and international law.
He urged the public and the international community not to believe what he described as baseless and misleading information and called on Cambodia to stop spreading what he called "fake news" aimed at discrediting Thailand, saying such actions undermine bilateral relations and peace along the border.
In a statement, the Second Army Region, which is responsible for the area, said Thai forces did not conduct any operations there.
It said that after examining photographs released by the Cambodian side showing the three injured soldiers, it found that the pattern of injuries was more consistent with a landmine explosion than a grenade blast.
"If the injuries had been caused by a hand grenade, shrapnel wounds would normally have been found across multiple parts of the body and would likely have been more severe," the statement said.
It also said Thailand was prepared to cooperate with any fact-finding process through existing bilateral mechanisms if additional information or evidence emerged.
