Bangkok (TDI): Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia flared up dramatically on Thursday when a Thai F-16 fighter jet dropped bombs inside Cambodian territory, marking the most serious escalation in years along their disputed border.
Thai military officials confirmed that one of six F-16 jets stationed near the conflict zone struck what they described as a military target in Cambodia. The airstrike followed a series of clashes that both countries blamed on the other.
“We used air power against designated military positions,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. In a separate move, Thai authorities sealed border crossings with Cambodia in response to the unrest.
Cambodia’s defence ministry, however, condemned the aerial assault, saying two bombs were dropped on a public road, not a military base. “We strongly denounce this reckless act of aggression by the Kingdom of Thailand,” the statement read, calling it a violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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The airstrike came hours after Thailand recalled its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelled Cambodia’s envoy from Bangkok. The move followed an incident in which a Thai soldier reportedly lost a limb after stepping on a landmine, one that Thai officials claim was recently planted in the contested area.
Cambodia has denied the charge, saying the soldier likely triggered an old mine left behind from previous conflicts.
Early Thursday, Thai authorities said Cambodian forces shelled a Thai military post and hit civilian areas, including a hospital. Two civilians were reportedly killed, while tens of thousands were evacuated from villages in the border province of Surin.
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Fighting erupted around the Ta Moan Thom temple, a site near the eastern stretch of the Thai-Cambodian border, about 360 km from Bangkok. Thai officials said a Cambodian drone was spotted before troops equipped with heavy weapons moved toward the area. A brief exchange of fire left at least two Thai soldiers injured, according to the Thai army.
Cambodia, in turn, accused Thai troops of making an unprovoked incursion. “We acted purely in self-defense,” said a spokesperson from Cambodia’s defense ministry.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
