BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH: Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire along their disputed border for a second day on Friday, as their worst fighting in years killed at least 15 people and displaced more than 130,000.
The fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors is the latest in a history of disputes that dates back more than a century, to when Cambodia’s former colonial ruler France first mapped the 800-km shared land border.
Both countries have blamed each other for starting a clash on Thursday near Prasat Ta Muen Thom, an ancient temple claimed by both nations. It quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling, with hostilities spreading to various locations along the border, marking a shift from usually brief confrontations that only rarely involved the use of weapons.
At least 14 people were killed, 46 others injured and more than 138,000 displaced in Thailand, the Thai military said. In Cambodia, around 2,400 families have been evacuated after the fighting killed one person and injured five others in Oddar Meanchey province, Meth Meas Pheakday, spokeswoman for the provincial administration, said on Friday.
Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai said Thailand has “exercised utmost restraint” against provocations and chose “peaceful means” in its responses.
