Tensions in Ban Nong Chan in Sa Kaeo province escalated this afternoon, as hundreds of Cambodians blocked a road in protest against the First Army Region’s plan to evict them from the site.
Video footage, released by the Thai Army, shows growing numbers of Cambodians gathering at an intersection on Road 58, obstructing traffic.
The confrontation began in the morning, when a group of Cambodian settlers dismantled three notice boards, erected to tell them to vacate the area or face legal action for trespass.
The Thai side has long maintained that Ban Nong Chan is part of Thailand, though it previously allowed Cambodian refugees, fleeing internal conflict, to take temporary refuge there on humanitarian grounds.
After the fighting ended, however, the Cambodians, backed by their government, refused to return home.
Following July’s deadly five-day clash with Cambodia, which ended in a bilateral ceasefire, the First Army Region, which oversees the area, has stepped up efforts to push the settlers back.
Yesterday, the command erected notice boards telling about 170 households to leave, but the signs were torn down.
Army video footage from the area also shows Cambodian soldiers forming a barricade in front of Thai troops, with Cambodian civilians standing behind them. Women and children were seen trying to provoke unarmed Thai troops by shaking and poking long sticks at the Thai troops.
First Army Region commander Lt Gen Amarit Boonsuya arrived at the scene in the morning to assess the situation and vowed that the Thai Army will closely monitor developments, resolve the border issue, as assigned by the Army chief, and protect the security and rights of local Thai residents.
