Thailand said it had launched airstrikes into Cambodia on Monday as fighting broke out in several areas along the disputed border after both countries accused the other of violating a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
A Thai military spokesman said at least one Thai soldier was killed and eight others injured in the new clashes, adding that air support had been requested to attack military targets in Cambodia.
The Thai Air Force said in a statement that Cambodia had mobilized heavy weapons, redeployed combat forces and prepared support forces that could escalate military operations.
The Cambodian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Thai military launched attacks on two Thai military locations in the early hours following several days of provocations, adding that the Cambodian military did not respond.
Cambodia’s influential longtime leader Hun Sen, father of current Prime Minister Hun Manet, called for restraint from the Cambodian military, calling it an “aggressor” seeking to provoke a retaliatory response.
Three Cambodian civilians have been seriously injured in the fighting so far, according to a senior provincial official. Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense said its military did not retaliate.
A smoldering border dispute between the two countries escalated into a five-day conflict in July, before a ceasefire was reached brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and President Trump, who also witnessed the signing of an expanded peace agreement between the two countries in October in Kuala Lumpur.
Southeast Asian countries have rarely engaged in military conflict with each other in recent decades, and cross-border airstrikes are even rarer.
The July clashes left at least 48 people dead, an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced, and the neighboring countries exchanged rocket fire and heavy artillery fire for five days.