Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating truce
Thailand accused Cambodia on Tuesday of violating a 10-day-old truce after cross-border mortar fire reportedly wounded a Thai soldier.
Phnom Penh, however, said a “pile of garbage” had exploded, injuring two Cambodian troops, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The incident comes amid a decades-long border dispute that flared into military clashes multiple times last year. Fighting in December left dozens dead and displaced around one million people on both sides.
The two nations agreed to a fragile truce on December 27, ending three weeks of intense clashes.
"Cambodia has violated the ceasefire" on Tuesday morning, the Thai army said in a statement, accusing Cambodian forces of firing mortar rounds into Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province.
One soldier was wounded by shrapnel, it added.
The Thai army said in a later statement that the Cambodian side had contacted a Thai military unit and claimed "there was no intention to fire into Thai territory", adding "the incident was caused by an operational error by Cambodian personnel".
The Thai military said it warned Cambodian forces to exercise caution, stressing if a similar incident occurred, Thailand may need to retaliate.
Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said two Cambodian soldiers were injured, one severely, on Tuesday morning in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, which sits opposite Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani.
While Cambodian forces were performing "organization and orderliness" duties, "an explosion occurred from a pile of garbage", she said, resulting in the two injured soldiers being hospitalised.
Socheata did not mention the strike alleged by Thailand, but said both nations' border coordination teams had consulted on the incident involving the Cambodian soldiers and addressed the matter.
The explosion occurred in a frontier region known as the Emerald Triangle, Socheata added where the borders of both countries and Laos meet.
In May, a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight with Thai troops in the area, reigniting the border conflict.
Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his government had lodged a protest with Phnom Penh, stating "the truce was violated".
"At the military-to-military level, we have been told the incident was an accident, but we are seeking clarification on how responsibility will be taken," Anutin told reporters in Bangkok.
Charnvirakul added that Thailand had the "capability to respond" to Cambodia, which is vastly outgunned by its neighbour.
The nations' long-standing conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.
Under the December truce, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts along their border.
On December 31, Bangkok released 18 Cambodian soldiers held since July when border clashes that month killed dozens of people.
Thailand's foreign ministry said their release was "a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building".
Phnom Penh said last week it remained "hopeful" that their return would "significantly contribute to building mutual trust".
The United States, China and Malaysia had brokered a truce to end the fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July, but that ceasefire was short-lived.
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