Thailand, Cambodia exchange fire in clashes that kill at least 9 civilians

Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire on their border on Thursday in a sharp escalation of their conflict that killed at least nine civiliansBoth nations accused each other of starting the military clashes and have downgraded their diplomatic relations since WednesdayThailand also sealed all land border crossings with Cambodia Relations between the Southeast Asian neighbours have deteriorated sharply since an armed confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situationThe Thai army said the most casualties occurred in Si Sa Ket province where six people were killed after shots were fired at a gas station At least 14 people were injured in three border provincesThe Thai army said it launched airstrikes Thursday on ground military targets in Cambodia while the Cambodian Defence Ministry said the Thai jets dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear templeBoth governments say they have to respond to the others actionsClashes are ongoing in at least six areas along the border Thai Defence Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said The first clash Thursday morning happened in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along the border of Thailands Surin province and Cambodias Oddar Meanchey provinceA livestream video from Thailands side showed people running from their homes and hiding in a concrete bunker Thursday morning as explosions soundedThailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Cambodia has attacked both military and nonmilitary sites in Thailand including a hospitalThe Royal Thai Government calls upon Cambodia to take responsibility for the incidents that have occurred cease attacks against civilian and military targets and stop all actions that violate Thailands sovereignty The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our selfdefence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailands sovereignty in accordance with international law and principles said Nikorndej Balankura the ministrys spokespersonCambodias Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country has always maintained a position of peaceful resolution of problems but we have no choice but to respond with armed force against armed aggressionAmbassadors are withdrawn and borders are closedEarlier Thursday Cambodia said it was downgrading diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest level expelling the Thai ambassador and recalling all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok That was in response to Thailand withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the Cambodian ambassador on Wednesday to protest a land mine blast that wounded five Thai soldiersThe Thai army said of Thursdays initial clash that its forces heard an unmanned aerial vehicle before seeing six armed Cambodian soldiers moving closer to Thailands station It said Thai soldiers tried to shout at them to defuse the situation but the Cambodian side started to open fireCambodias Defence Ministry also said Thailand employed a drone first before opening fire and that Cambodia acted strictly within the bounds of selfdefence responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrityThe Thai embassy in Phnom Penh posted on Facebook that there were clashes at several border areas that could continue to escalate It urged Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave the country if they could and advised others not to travel to Cambodia unless absolutely necessaryOn Wednesday a land mine blast near the border wounded five Thai soldiers one of whom lost a leg A week earlier a land mine in a different contested area exploded and wounded three Thai soldiers when one of them stepped on it and lost a footThai authorities have alleged the mines were newly laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe They said the mines were Russianmade and not of a type employed by Thailands military Cambodia rejected Thailands account as baseless accusations pointing out that many unexploded mines and other ordnance are a legacy of 20thcentury wars and unrestThe border dispute has also caused political fallout in Thailand whose prime minister was suspended from office to be investigated for possible ethics violations over the matterBorder disputes are longstanding issues that have caused periodic tensions between the countries The most prominent and violent conflicts have been around the 1000yearold Preah Vihear templeIn 1962 the International Court of Justice recognised Cambodian sovereignty over the temple area in a ruling that became a major irritant in the relations of both countriesCambodia went back to the court in 2011 following several military clashes that killed about 20 people The court reaffirmed the ruling in 2013 a decision that still rattled ThailandThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever