HITHTS SERE/EPA
People flee their homes near the border between Cambodia and Thailand in the province of Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia.
“If the situation gets worse, it can become a war,” admits Thai government. Six F-16 attacked Cambodian military targets on the ground. All because of the border layout and a temple.
Thai interim prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned on Friday to the risk of the Cambodia border being able to “become a war.”
“We tried to reach an appointment because we are neighbors,” the leader told reporters on the second day of confrontation.
“If the situation gets worse, can become a wareven if, for now, it is limited to clashes, ”he added.
More than 138 thousand displaced
The Thai Ministry of Health reported today that more than 138 thousand civilians were removed From the border regions affected by the confrontations with the neighboring country, reviewing a previous balance that pointed to more than one hundred thousand.
In addition to these 138,000 people, 428 hospitals were transferred to reception centers, the Thai Ministry said, which reported this morning (dawn in Lisbon), 14 Mortal Victims in clashes – 13 civilians and a military man.
“There are currently confrontations in various border zones. People who avoid border zones are asked,” he said at 08:10 (2:10 in Lisbon), the second region of the Thai army-a highlighted division in the northeast of the country.
In Cambodia at least one person diedThe France-Presse agency told the Cambojan border province spokesman for Oddar Meanchey (northwest) in a first official balance of the country’s authorities.
“So far, a civilian has been killed and five people have been injured during the fighting,” said Meth Meas Pheakdey, adding that the deadly victim was a 70 -year -old man.
F-16 attacked Cambodian military targets on the ground
The confrontations, of a rare intensitythey broke out on Thursday, on the border between the two countries, with gunfire, grenades and rockets. The fighting focus around six locations, the Thai army said.
Bangkok sent, on Thursday, Six F-16 Airplanes To attack “two Cambodian military targets on the ground,” said the country’s deputy spokesman Ritcha Suksuwanon.
An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is scheduled for today at 15:00 (20:00 in Lisbon).
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who occupies the rotary presidency of the Southeast Asia Nations Association (Asean) and dialogue with both countries, called for moderation.
Longtime conflict around temple
Cambodia and Thailand have been in conflict for a long time on more than 800 kilometerslargely defined by agreements celebrated during the French occupation of the so -called Indochina, between the late nineteenth and mid -twentieth century.
In 2011, clashes around the templo Preah Vihearclassified as a world heritage by the UN organization for education, science and culture (UNESCO) and claimed by both countries, caused at least 28 Dead e tens of thousands of displaced.
Although in 2013, the International Court of Justice (TIJ), the UN’s main judicial body, has attributed to Cambodia the contested zone below the temple, the layout of other zones continues to oppose Bangkok and Phnom Penh.
