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Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged fire along their border, each accusing the other of starting armed clashes. According to Thai authorities, at least 11 civilians were killed and 14 injured as of Thursday. Cambodia has not released information on casualties.
Thailand has sealed all land borders with its neighbor due to ongoing clashes in at least six areas along the frontier. Bangkok claims these hostilities are taking place in specific locations.
[Map showing the location of the hostilities]
Thursday’s clashes mark an escalation of a long-standing dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, who share a 500-mile border largely mapped by France during its rule over Cambodia. Cambodia has sought a ruling from the United Nations’ International Court of Justice over disputed areas, but Bangkok does not recognize the ICJ’s jurisdiction and claims some border areas were never fully demarcated.
Tensions were reignited in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. Cambodia now requests an “urgent meeting” by the UN Security Council to stop the violence amid international concerns that it could escalate.
Both sides have accused each other of firing first shots on Thursday morning. The Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson stated that clashes are ongoing in at least six areas along the border, while the Thai army reported six people killed after shots were fired at a gas station in Si Sa Ket province. Meanwhile, the Cambodian army claimed Thai jets dropped bombs near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
The first clash took place near the Ta Muen Thom temple on the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province. Video footage showed people running from their homes as explosions occurred. One person was killed, and three other civilians, including a 5-year-old boy, were injured when Cambodia fired shots into a residential area.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Facebook post that his country had “no choice but to respond with military force against the armed aggression.” Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Cambodia of attacking both military and non-military sites, including a hospital. Bangkok called on its neighbor to “stop all actions that violate Thailand’s sovereignty.”
Cambodia has downgraded diplomatic relations, expelled the Thai ambassador, and recalled Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok.
Amid calls for UN involvement, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, told CNN that the conflict is “likely to get worse before it gets better.”
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According to the report, how many civilians were reportedly killed and injured by Thursday in Thailand's border clashes with Cambodia?
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