Clashes force over 500,000 to flee along Thailand-Cambodia border
Escalating clashes along the Thailand–Cambodia border have displaced over 500,000 people and killed at least 13, as shelling and air raids hit multiple provinces for a third straight day.
Violent clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have forced more than 500,000 people to flee their homes as fighting spread along the border for a third consecutive day on Wednesday.
The renewed hostilities, marked by shelling and air raids, have already claimed at least 13 lives, including both soldiers and civilians.
According to Thai authorities, the evacuations are the largest seen in recent months.
"More than 400,000 people have been moved to safe shelters" across seven provinces, Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesperson for Thailand's Ministry of Defence, told reporters.
"Civilians have had to evacuate in large numbers due to what we assessed as an imminent threat to their safety."
Meanwhile, Cambodia reported that 101,229 people have been moved to safe shelters across five provinces owing to the fighting, according to Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of National Defence.
The violence escalated on Wednesday when rockets from Cambodia landed near Phanom Dong Rak Hospital in Thailand's Surin province, forcing staff and patients to seek safety in a bunker.
Both nations are blaming each other over the sudden outbreak of hostilities. Cambodia has accused Thai forces of "indiscriminately and brutally targeting civilian residential areas" while Thailand maintains it did not start the clashes.
Cambodian media reported on Wednesday that Thai F-16 jets struck two sites inside the country, accompanied by artillery fire hitting three more locations.
In response, Cambodian rockets and artillery targeted 12 frontline positions across four Thai provinces, according to Thailand's The Nation newspaper. Clashes have been reported across nearly all provinces along the border, with Surin province alone seeing exchanges of fire in five separate areas.
The current escalation is the deadliest since July, when five days of fighting killed dozens and displaced roughly 300,000 people before a truce was brokered following US intervention.
"I am going to have to make a phone call. Who else could say I'm going to make a phone call and stop a war between two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia," US President Donald Trump said at a rally on Tuesday.
The conflict dates back to colonial-era border lines, with disputes over historic temple sites occasionally sparking violence.
Tensions worsened last month after Thailand suspended de-escalation measures agreed at an October summit in Kuala Lumpur, following a landmine incident that Thailand blamed on Cambodia, a claim that Cambodia denies.
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