SURIN, Thailand: More than 100,000 people have fled the bloodiest border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in a decade, Bangkok said Friday, as the death toll rose and international powers urged a halt to hostilities.
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday.
The Thai interior ministry said more than 100,000 people from four border provinces had moved to nearly 300 temporary shelters, while the health ministry said the death toll had risen to 15 – 14 civilians and one soldier – with 46 wounded, including 15 troops.
Cambodian authorities have not released any casualty figures from their side.
In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20 kilometers from the border, AFP journalists reported hearing distant artillery fire on Friday morning.
