Cambodians flee border with Thailand as clashes continue for third day

Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia – Explosions reverberated successful the region on the Thai-Cambodia border, arsenic a Cambodian worker waited his crook for country to region shrapnel embedded successful his assemblage from a Thai artillery shell.

The worker said helium was injured successful warring with Thai troops connected Friday adjacent the ancient Ta Moan Thom temple on the contested borderline separating the Cambodian state of Oddar Meanchey and the Thai state of Surin.

“I person shrapnel successful my backmost and it hasn’t been removed yet. I request surgery,” the worker told Al Jazeera, lying successful furniture successful a infirmary corridor, his woman and lad seated connected the level beside him.

“They took maine to the subject infirmary first, but they didn’t person an X-ray [machine],” the worker said.

“When I was hit, my apparel were blown off,” helium added.

A 2nd injured Cambodian worker told however helium took shrapnel to his near enarthrosis portion warring adjacent the Ta Krabei temple, different disputed determination connected the Thai-Cambodia border.

Injured Cambodian soldiers hold successful a infirmary corridor to person attraction successful Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey state connected Friday [Coby Hobbs/Al Jazeera]

Cambodia claims to person gained power implicit territory astir Ta Moan and Ta Krabei, on with six different contested sites, aft pushing backmost Thai troops soon aft clashes broke retired Thursday. That assertion could not beryllium independently verified.

The temples, similar galore areas on the much than 800km (500 miles) borderline these 2 Southeast Asian neighbours share, person agelong been a flashpoint owed to disputed territorial claims.

The past large borderline clashes betwixt Thailand and Cambodia broke retired successful 2011 adjacent the 11th-century Preah Vihear Hindu temple, which belongs to Cambodia and is simply a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As of Saturday afternoon, much than 30 people, astir of whom are civilians, person been confirmed killed connected some sides of the border.

At slightest 13 radical person been killed successful Cambodia, according to authorities, portion immoderate 20 person reportedly been killed successful Thailand.

Civilian infrastructure has besides been bombed connected some sides of the borderline successful the 3 days of fighting.

‘We ran for our lives’

Along the Cambodian broadside of the border, the clashes of artillery and rocket occurrence person forced civilians to flee.

“I miss my home,” said Chheng Deab, a displaced Cambodian villager who fled her location located astir 5km (3 miles) from the Thai borderline successful Oddar Meanchey.

Chheng Deab told however she near her location pursuing a directive from section authorities and is present sheltering with her children astatine a superior schoolhouse distant from clashes, with dozens of different families who fled the borderline area.

“If the shooting continues, we’ll support moving. We don’t cognize erstwhile it’s going to finish,” she said.

For the displaced people, nutrient is already moving debased and uncertainty is mounting arsenic galore interest astir the destiny of their homes, livestock and farms – captious lifelines successful Cambodia’s impoverished borderline regions.

Cambodians displaced by clashes connected the borderline with Thailand stitchery astatine a tract for displaced radical connected Friday [Coby Hobbs/Al Jazeera]

Families told Al Jazeera however they had already returned location briefly, contempt the danger, conscionable to thin to their livestock and cod belongings near down erstwhile they fled Thailand’s attack.

Most said their astir urgent request present is food.

“We person small nutrient left,” Chheng Deab said.

“If this continues, we’ll person thing to eat.”

At a 2nd tract wherever displaced Cambodians had gathered, galore expressed the aforesaid concerns, saying enactment from authorities authorities has been limited.

A section colony main said residents person been pooling atom and different supplies to assistance each other.

One woman, who asked not to beryllium named, recalled her flight a time earlier the warring erupted. She said immoderate members of her assemblage had been moving successful the fields erstwhile bombs fired by the Thai subject abruptly began to rainfall down.

“Samraong territory [in Oddar Meanchey] has been the astir heavy bombed by the Thais. We ran for our lives and couldn’t instrumentality everything we needed,” she told Al Jazeera.

Thailand-Cambodia tit-for-tat escalation

With the warring reportedly spreading to galore areas on the border, astir 140,000 Thai civilians person fled oregon been evacuated from their homes, according to section officials.

The Thai subject has besides declared martial instrumentality successful 8 borderline districts.

In Cambodia, astir 38,000 radical person been uprooted from their homes crossed Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Pursat provinces.

The long-running borderline disputes betwixt Cambodia and Thailand – immoderate of which day backmost much than a period – re-erupted successful May erstwhile a Cambodian worker was killed successful a little speech of gunfire with Thai troops.

After months of trading punitive tit-for-tat diplomatic and commercialized measures, tensions spilled implicit earlier this week erstwhile respective Thai soldiers were injured by landmines successful the disputed borderline portion betwixt the 2 countries.

Thailand accused Cambodian troops of deliberately planting caller mines. Phnom Penh vehemently denied doing so, claiming the mines were near implicit from Cambodia’s civilian warfare successful the 1980s and 1990s.

Thailand recalled its ambassador and expelled Cambodia’s envoy. Phnom Penh past pulled its diplomats successful response, and some sides downgraded diplomatic ties.

Direct warring past broke retired connected Thursday morning, with some sides trading blasted for who fired the archetypal shots.

In Oddar Meanchey province, the country of the astir aggravated warring connected the Cambodian side, determination were sporadic but aggravated exchanges of machinegun, rocket and artillery occurrence crossed the borderline connected Friday.

Cambodia has besides accused Thailand of utilizing clump munitions – which are banned nether planetary treaties – portion Thailand, for its part, has accused Cambodia of repeatedly firing long-range rockets into civilian areas, including a hospital.

Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand’s acting premier minister, said helium believed Cambodia mightiness beryllium blameworthy of warfare crimes for its alleged attacks connected civilians.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet has accused Thailand’s equipped forces of launching “unprovoked, premeditated, and deliberate attacks”.

With some leaders anxious to overgarment the different arsenic the aggressor, authorities connected some sides of the borderline look to beryllium making preparations for what could beryllium an extended conflict.

(Additional reporting by Vutha Srey)