A Thai fighter jet dropped bombs on Cambodian military targets along their disputed border on Thursday, as armed clashes between the two Southeast Asian neighbors killed at least 11 civilians, in a dramatic escalation of tensions that threatens to erupt into a broader conflict.
The violence comes a day after a Thai soldier lost his leg in a landmine explosion, an incident that cratered relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh to their lowest level in years. Thailand has since closed all border crossings with Cambodia.
Thailand’s 2nd regional military command in the northeast said in a post on Facebook that F-16 fighter jets had been deployed. It also claimed to have “destroyed” two Cambodian regional military support units. Army spokesperson Col. Richa Suksuwanont said the strikes were aimed only at military targets.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that a Thai F-16 had dropped two bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO world heritage site. It condemned what it called “brutal, barbaric, and violent military aggression,” accusing Thailand of violating international law.
“Cambodia reserves the right to lawful self-defense and will respond decisively to Thailand’s violent aggression,” the statement said, adding that the armed forces are “fully prepared to defend the kingdom’s sovereignty and its people – whatever the cost.”
Armed clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces had broken out at six locations along the disputed border earlier on Thursday, according to military officials, causing civilian casualties, damaging homes and livestock, and prompting the evacuation of residents in Thailand.
At least 11 people were killed in Thursday’s violence and 35 people impacted, according Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health. An 8-year-old boy was among those killed, the Thai military earlier said.
Six people were killed and 10 injured when a Cambodian rocket hit a busy gas station in Kantharalak, Sisaket province, close to the border, the Thai military said. Social media video, geolocated by CNN to Kantharalak, showed several wounded people outside a heavily damaged 7-Eleven convenience store and gas station, with smoke billowing in the background.
Thailand also accused Cambodian troops of firing two BM-21 rockets into a civilian area in Kap Choeng district of Surin province, in Thailand’s northeast. Bangkok’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Cambodian attacks on civilian areas continued throughout Thursday, including at a hospital in Surin.
Residents of Surin could be seen running for cover and taking shelter in bunkers amid the sound of gunfire, in video from Thai PBS.
A motorcycle shop keeper in Surin, Komsan Jaipeng, told CNN that when the clashes started, he saw many school children rushing to escape. Komsan was opening up his shop when he first heard a boom Thursday morning.
“I told my wife that we are not going home tonight, we will stay at least a night at this shelter here. Our house (is) about 7 to 8 kilometers from the border,” he said from Phanom Dong Rak district. Komsan said he had prepared a bag of items for more than a month now, including spare clothes and phone chargers.
Across the disputed border in the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, Chhan Rorn Yon told CNN that his neighbors have sought refuge in a pagoda in a nearby town but he will remain in his village of Sa Em.
“I am so concerned that the bomb drop and the bullet will kill us,” the 45-year-old farmer said from Sa Em, 10 kilometers (6 miles) north from the conflict area where the shooting first erupted Thursday morning. “I am worried for my people, my children, my relatives and especially for the troops who fight.”
Thailand’s military said it condemns “violent acts against civilian targets by the Cambodian side and is prepared to take military action to the fullest extent to protect its sovereignty and its people from such inhumane actions.”
It accused Cambodia of violating both its sovereignty and international law, claiming it laid landmines within Thai territory on the disputed border.
Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai earlier said the situation remained delicate and must be addressed with care and with measures in line with international law, according to Reuters news agency.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an “urgent meeting” to “stop Thailand’s aggression.”
The clashes came after five Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion on Wednesday, with the incident prompting Thailand to downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia – recalling its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelling the Cambodian ambassador.
In recent decades, Thailand and Cambodia have had a complicated relationship of both cooperation and rivalry. The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border – largely mapped by the French when they controlled Cambodia as a colony – that has periodically seen military clashes and been a source of tension.
In 2011, Thai and Cambodian troops clashed in an area surrounding the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, displacing thousands of people on both sides and killing at least 20 people.
How the latest escalation began
The recent flare-up began early in the morning when Thailand’s military said Cambodian troops fired at a Thai army base in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom Temple, which lies about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of Bangkok in disputed territory in the south of Thailand’s Surin province and in Cambodia’s northwest.
Thailand said Cambodia had deployed a drone in front of the temple, before sending troops in with weapons. Clashes then erupted along the entire border region with small arms and heavy weapons used, according to Thailand’s military.
Cambodia has disputed that account. A Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson said its troops had acted in self-defense after an unprovoked incursion from Thai soldiers.
“Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,” Lieutenant General Maly Socheata said.
The country’s Defense Ministry accused Thailand of deploying drones, and said Thai forces initiated an armed assault on Cambodian troops stationed at the temple.
