Cambodia calls for immediate ceasefire with Thailand; 13 killed in border clashes: Latest developments

Cambodia on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire with Thailand after two days of cross-border fighting over a long-running border dispute.Cambodia’s envoy to the United Nations Chhea Keo said that Phnom Penh has asked for a truce “unconditionally” as it wanted a “peaceful solution of the dispute”.Clashes broke out near the centuries-old Preah Vihear and Prasat Ta Muen Thom temples, with both sides exchanging rockets and artillery fire for a second straight day.Latest developments⦁ In a United Nations Security Council private meeting, Thailand accused Cambodia of launching “indiscriminate and inhumane attacks” and urged Phnom Penh to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression.⦁ Cambodia’s envoy, however, questioned Thailand’s assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbor, had initiated the conflict. “UNSC called for both parties to show maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well,” said Chhea Keo.⦁ At least 13 people, including eight soldiers, were killed in Cambodia after fierce fighting which erupted on Thursday. According to Phnom Penh’s defence ministry, more than 35,000 people were forced to flee their homes.⦁ Meanwhile, more than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities including 14 civilians and a soldier. Additionally, 46 people were severely injured, including 15 troops.⦁ Dozens of kilometers in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.What led to clashes?⦁ The clashes between the two countries were triggered after a Cambodian soldier was killed in May, and two Thai soldiers lost limbs in separate landmine blasts in July.⦁ Fighter jets, landmines, and diplomatic expulsions marked the sharpest escalation in years over a dispute that stretches back over a century and at the centre of it lies the 11th century Preah Vihear Hindu temple.⦁ The 11th century Preah Vihear temple, perched atop the Dangrek mountain range, is a longstanding symbol of national pride and dispute between the two countries.⦁ In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Preah Vihear temple lies in Cambodia, based on a 1907 French map. Thailand disputed the map, but the court found it had implicitly accepted it and ordered Thai forces to withdraw. Thailand, however, still claims a 4.6 sq km area around the temple. Tensions flared in 2008 after Cambodia registered the temple as a UNESCO site, leading to deadly clashes in 2011. In 2013, the ICJ reaffirmed Cambodia’s sovereignty over the temple and surrounding land — a ruling still contested by Thailand.