Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy firing along their disputed border for a second day on Friday. Officials from both countries have reported that, so far, more than a dozen people have been killed and over 1,35,00 civilians have been evacuated from the affected areas.
Tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours have been boiling for months over disputed sections of the 500-mile land border, demarcated in part by Cambodia’s former colonial ruler, France. The border runs along several archaeologically significant religious sites that both countries claim as their own.
Clashes broke out at 4:30 AM on Friday after Cambodia started firing using small arms and heavy weapons on Ubon Ratchathani province and Surin province. The army has warned people to avoid these areas. Media reports have detailed that heavy explosives and rockets were fired, reportedly from the Cambodian side, it said.
Thai authorities have also stated that their forces were conducting bomb disposal operations and recovering bodies from Kantharalak district, which was hit by Cambodian rockets on Thursday.
The recent flare-up is a result of five Thai soldiers being wounded in a landmine explosion on Wednesday. Tensions between the two countries have been rising ever since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops who opened fire over a contested area near the border of the Emerald Triangle, where Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos meet.
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