【Text by Observers Network, Xiong Chaoran】According to China Central Television (CCTV), on the morning of July 24 local time, there was a fire fight between Thailand and Cambodia in the border area of the two countries. Subsequently, both countries accused each other of instigating the conflict.

Later in the morning, Thailand stated that a residential area and a gas station in the border area were attacked by Cambodian army rocket artillery, resulting in nine civilians dead and 14 injured. Subsequently, the Royal Thai Air Force launched retaliatory bombing against targets inside Cambodia, which was confirmed by both Thai and Cambodian sides. "We have used air power against military targets as planned," said a deputy spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army to the reporter. In addition, Thailand has closed all border crossings with Cambodia. The Thai embassy reminded its citizens to leave Cambodia as soon as possible.

Currently, Cambodia strongly condemns Thailand's "reckless and brutal military aggression" against Cambodia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and has requested the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting.

A Royal Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jet, a photo for reference

According to reports, the conflict erupted at around midnight on July 24 near the disputed temple of Tamok Tong in the eastern border of Cambodia and Thailand, which is about 360 kilometers from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Richa Suksuwanon, a deputy spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army, stated that at around midnight on July 24, after the Cambodian army opened fire about 200 meters east of the Thai military base, the Thai side was closely monitoring the situation near the Tamok Tong Temple.

According to the Thai side, the escalation began when Thai forces discovered Cambodian armed personnel entering the frontline barbed wire position with weapons, among whom one of the six soldiers carrying RPGs approached the fence.

In response, the Thai military had tried to ease the situation through verbal negotiations. However, around 8:20 a.m., the Cambodian army fired from positions near its military base, including using rockets and other weapons, causing two Thai soldiers to be injured. Moreover, based on the sound, there was also a drone belonging to Cambodia flying over the temple at that time.

Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, the head of a district in Surin Province, described the Cambodian firing as follows: "Bullets fell into the houses of residents, and two people have died." He added that the local authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer places.

The Royal Thai Army stated that the first attack occurred at around 9 a.m. local time, when the Cambodian army used BM-21 rocket launchers to fire two rockets hitting the border development center of a district in Surin Province. The second attack occurred around 11:30 a.m., when a rocket hit a gas station in Sisaket Province.

Cambodian army rocket artillery

A Thai gas station was attacked by Cambodian artillery

Later that day, the Second Army Region of Thailand posted on social media that at 10:58 a.m., the Thai military had deployed F-16 fighter jets to carry out bombing missions and had safely returned. The Thai military stated that the bombing destroyed the headquarters of the 8th and 9th Light Infantry Divisions of the Cambodian army.

In response to the report by Cambodian media claiming that the Royal Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jets were shot down in the early morning, the Royal Thai Air Force also issued a statement on its official Facebook account stating that the claim by Cambodian media was completely false.

Thai Royal Air Force debunking rumors, screenshot from Facebook

On the other hand, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense spokesperson stated that due to the "unprovoked invasion" by the Thai army, the Cambodian army carried out "self-defense counterattacks."

The Cambodian Ministry of Defense issued a statement, accusing Thailand of deploying too many troops, using heavy weapons, and conducting air strikes, attempting to forcibly seize Cambodian territory.

Cambodia's People's Party Chairman and former Prime Minister Hun Sen mentioned on his Facebook page that two provinces of Cambodia were subjected to artillery attacks by the Thai army. Meanwhile, Thailand's acting Prime Minister Prawit Vongkusol said that the current situation was "delicate," and he told the reporter: "We must be careful and cautious, and we will abide by international law."

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have been competing for sovereignty over multiple unmarked locations along their 817-kilometer land border, leading to multiple small-scale conflicts over the years, resulting in at least a dozen deaths, including a week-long artillery fire incident in 2011.

On May 28 this year, a brief conflict occurred between the armies of Thailand and Cambodia in the disputed border area, with the fighting lasting about 10 minutes, resulting in the death of one Cambodian soldier. Soon after the incident, a recording of a phone call between Thailand's then Prime Minister Paetongtarn and Cambodia's People's Party Chairman and former Prime Minister Hun Sen regarding the Thai-Cambodian border dispute was leaked, causing a major uproar, leading to Paetongtarn being suspended by the Thai Constitutional Court.

Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, photo for reference

On the evening of July 16 local time, three Thai soldiers were injured by landmines on the Thai-Cambodian border. As a result, Thailand decided to lower the diplomatic relations with Cambodia. On July 20, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning Cambodia for suspected violation of the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines and infringement of Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity, announcing that it would take action according to the convention.

On the evening of July 23 local time, Thailand's acting Prime Minister Prawit issued a statement, lowering the level of diplomatic relations with Cambodia, recalling the Thai ambassador to Cambodia, expelling the Cambodian ambassador from the country, and instructing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit a protest letter.

In response, the Cambodian government decided on July 24 to reduce the diplomatic relations with Thailand to the lowest level, i.e., the charge d'affaires level. Cambodia announced the recall of all diplomats and staff except essential personnel from its embassy in Thailand, and simultaneously required Thai diplomats to leave the country within a limited time.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer Network. Without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7530545627202175539/

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