A long-standing border dispute between the neighbors flared up again this month, shattering an earlier truce and killing more than 40 people, according to official figures. About a million people were also displaced.
Cambodian and Thai officials were on Friday for the third day in a row of talks at the border crossing, while a meeting of the defense ministers of both countries is scheduled for Saturday.
A Cambodian soldier on guard at the Preah Vihear temple, in front of an old map of Cambodia and Thailand.
However, Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said the Thai military carried out heavy bombing on disputed border areas in Banteay Meanchey province on Friday morning.
“From 6:08 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., the Thai military engaged F-16 fighter jets that dropped as many as 40 bombs, further intensifying the bombardment of the Chok Chey village area,” the statement said.
The two countries accuse each other of sparking new conflicts, which have spread to almost every province along their shared border.
Both sides also claim they acted in self-defense and accuse the other of attacking civilians.
The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end five days of deadly clashes in July, but the ceasefire was short-lived.
Earlier on Friday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Facebook that he spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that they discussed “ways to ensure a ceasefire along the border between Cambodia and Thailand”.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial demarcation of their 800-kilometer border and a series of temple ruins located there.
(Vijesti.ba)
