Bangkok: According to CNN, the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has caused a massive humanitarian disaster, with more than 100,000 people forced to flee their homes in only two days of fighting.
People, including children and the elderly, have been observed escaping in the middle of the night, transporting their valuables in plastic bags, as military gunfire continues on both sides.
According to the Thai Ministry of Interior, more than 100,000 Thai people had been relocated to temporary shelters in provinces bordering Cambodia as of Thursday night, including Surin, Buri Ram, and Si Saket. Videos from these locations show people resting on mats inside universities and schools, eating from plastic containers, and waiting for updates as the fighting continues, according to CNN.
According to local authorities, over 4,000 individuals have been evacuated from border communities in Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia. Footage from the region depicts locals leaving their houses and seeking refuge under tarpaulin coverings.
According to a Cambodian official, the gunfire is continuing, and tensions remain high.
The new onslaught of attacks began about 4:30 a. m. on Friday, with Cambodia reportedly firing with small arms and large weapons. The Thai army retaliated with gunfire, then scrambled F16 planes to attack what it claimed were Cambodian military bases.
The confrontations took place in two areas in Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province and one in Surin. Thai officials advised residents to avoid the region while they conducted bomb disposal and rescue operations in the Kantharalak area, where Cambodian missiles had crashed the night before.
According to CNN, 14 people have been killed in Thailand, most of them civilians, while one person has been killed and five others injured in Cambodia.
Tensions between the two Southeast Asian neighbours have been brewing for months due to a contested strip of territory along their 800-kilometer border, which was established by French colonial authorities when they controlled Cambodia. The region has several historic temples and archaeological sites that both nations claim.
The latest violence occurred after a landmine blast wounded five Thai soldiers. According to CNN, a Cambodian soldier was killed during another clash near the triborder region where Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos meet in May.
Despite strong cultural and economic ties, the two countries' military capabilities are not equal. Thailand maintains a substantially larger and more powerful army, with over 360,000 active troops, three times the number of Cambodia.
Thailand is also a prominent nonNATO ally of the United States, receiving military aid and weapons support for many years.
Japan, the United States, and China have all asked Thailand and Cambodia to use prudence and avoid further escalation.
As the situation remains uncertain, neither party has indicated any specific measures for deescalation, trapping thousands of people in the middle of an ongoing and lethal border dispute.
