At least 11 civilians were killed Thursday when Thailand and Cambodia exchanged airstrikes, rockets and artillery fire, in a dramatic escalation of a long-running border row.
The neighbors are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet and which is home to several ancient temples.
The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.
The conflict blazed up Thursday, with Cambodia firing rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambling F-16 jets to carry out airstrikes.
The Thai Public Health Ministry said at least 11 civilians had been killed, most of them in a rocket strike near a petrol station in Sisaket province.
