A Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodian territory on Thursday, officials from both countries confirmed, as armed clashes along the disputed border have killed at least two civilians and sharply increased regional tensions.
According to the Thai military, one of six F-16 fighter jets prepared for deployment along the disputed border carried out the airstrike, destroying a military target in Cambodian territory. Both sides have accused each other of starting the fighting in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“We used air power against military targets, as planned,” Thai military deputy spokesman Richa Suksuwanon told the media.
At the same time, Thailand has officially closed its border with Cambodia as part of security measures.
On the other hand, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense stated that Thai aircraft dropped two bombs on a road, strongly condemning what it called “reckless and brutal military aggression by the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia.”
The escalation in violence follows Thailand’s decision to recall its ambassador from Cambodia on Wednesday night and expel the Cambodian diplomatic representative in Bangkok. The decision was made after another Thai soldier lost his leg to a mine that Bangkok said had recently been planted in a disputed area.
Thai residents in the border province of Surin have been forced to take shelter in bunkers built from concrete, sand and car tires, while the two armies have exchanged intense fire.
“How many bullets were fired? Countless!” a woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) as she hid in a shelter amid the sounds of gunfire and explosions.
For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have had ongoing disputes over the sovereignty of several unmarked points along their 817-kilometer-long land border, causing occasional clashes and dozens of casualties over the years. These included a seven-day artillery conflict in 2011.
Tensions have been reignited since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief clash, which then escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and has now led to armed clashes between the two countries.
