Mortal border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia continue as countries trade with accusations

Thailand and Cambodia exchanged accusations on Saturday of new attacks such as Mortal border clashes He entered a third day, leaving at least 33 people dead and more than 168,000 displaced, as the international pressure rose on both sides to reach a high fire.

Fire and artillery shots were informed about several border villages, expanding the fighting area that became again on Thursday after an explosion of land mines along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodia and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation.

Both countries recalled that their ambassadors and Thailand closed their border crossings from the Northeast with Cambodia.

The Cambodian authorities reported on Saturday 12 new deaths, which brought their toll to 13, while Thai officials said a soldier was killed, which increased deaths to 20, mostly civilians.

The regional bloc, the Asian Southeast Nations Associationor Asean, is under increasing pressure to deactivate the situation between its two members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, the members of the UN Security Council requested the de -scarf and urged the Asen to mediate a peaceful solution.

The 500 mile border between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The current tensions exploded in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic crack and domestic policy of Thailand.

Fresh attacks and growing tension

The Ministry of Defense of Cambodia condemned what he said it was a Thai offensive expanded on early Saturday after five heavy artillery projectiles were fired in multiple locations in the province of Pursat, calling for the attack an “act of unprovited and premeditated aggression.”

The ministry spokesman, Lieutenant General Mally Scheata, said the tensions were lit in the province of Koh Kong, where four Thai naval ships parked on the high seas were reported and four others on the road. She said that the naval deployment was an “act of aggression” that risked a greater escalation.

Mall Scheata said that seven civilians and five soldiers were killed in two days of struggle. Previously, a man was reported dead after a page he was hiding was beaten by Thai rockets.

The Thai army had denied aiming Cambodian civil sites and accused Phnom Penh of using “human shields” by placing their weapons near residential areas.

Meanwhile, the Navy of Thailand, in a Saturday statement, accused the Cambodian forces of starting a new attack in the province of Treat, saying that the Thai forces responded quickly and “successfully retreated the Cambodian incursion into three key points,” warning that “the aggression is not tolerated.”

Thai authorities also alleged that several Cambodian artillery projectiles had landed across the border in Laos, damaging houses and properties. LAO officials have not publicly responded to the claim.

The conflict has so far left thousands of displaced.

The Minister of Information of Cambodia, Neth Pheaktra, said on Saturday that the clashes had forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate safe places, while Thai officials said that more than 131,000 people had fled from their border towns.

Called to protect civilians in the midst of the cluster pump use claim

Human Rights Watch urged the UN Security Council and referred to governments to press Thai and Cambodian governments to comply with international humanitarian law and take all measures to protect civilians. The children have been harmed and the Thai authorities have closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for security reasons, the rights group said in a statement on Saturday.

Both parties have used rocket attacks and artillery, and after initially deny Internationally prohibited cluster ammunition A Thai military spokesman were being used in a statement on Friday, he said that such weapons could be used “when necessary” to attack military objectives. HRW condemned the use of cluster ammunition in populated areas.

Neither Thailand nor Cambodia are part of the Cluster ammunition Convention, which prohibits the use of the weapon and the Thai authorities had previously used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead.

“Neither Thailand nor Cambodia seem to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great cost to civilians,” said John Softon, director of Defense of Asia in Human Rights Watch, in a statement. “Diplomatic efforts in progress need to prioritize the protection of civilians and civil infrastructure.”

Thai officials also recognized the use of F-16 aircraft and drones to launch air attacks.

The UN urges the Asean block to mediate

The UN Security Council did not issue a resolution in the crisis during its emergency session on Friday, but Thailand Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said on Saturday that the 15 member countries asked both sides to exercise restriction, stop attacks and resolve the dispute peacefully. They also supported the role of Asean in mediation between their two member states, he said.

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, whose country is the current president of the ASEAN, had previously said that Thailand and Cambodia were open in principle to their proposal of Alto El Fuego. Malaysia’s media said Anwar has commissioned the country’s foreign minister to mediate peace conversations to stop fighting.

Maris said on Saturday that his country agreed in principle the proposal, but insisted that Cambodia must first show sincerity and cease hostilities, adding that Thailand would continue to be involved constructively with Malaysia.

“Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolve the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,” he said, urging Cambodia to “return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.”

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