Thailand deploys F-16 jets, drops bombs near ancient Hindu temple at the centre of frequent conflicts

Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed in several areas along their border on Thursday in a major escalation of their conflict that left at least 11 people dead, mostly civilians. The two sides fired small arms, artillery and rockets, and Thailand also called in airstrikes.

Thai villagers could be seen on video fleeing their homes to seek shelter as the clashes began in the morning. 

Fighting was ongoing in at least six areas along the border, Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said. The trigger for the clashes was a mine explosion along the border on Wednesday that wounded five Thai soldiers and led Bangkok to withdraw its ambassador to Cambodia and expelled Cambodia's. 

Thailand has also sealed all land border crossings while urging its citizens to leave Cambodia.

The Southeast Asian neighbours have longstanding border disputes that periodically flare up along their 800-km frontier and usually result in brief confrontations that sometimes involves exchanges of gunfire.  But relations have deteriorated sharply since a confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier, and Thursday's clashes were far bigger in scale and intensity than usual. 

The first clash on Thursday morning happened in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along the border of Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province.

A video from the Thai side showed people running from their homes and hiding in a concrete bunker as explosions sounded.

The Thai army said its forces heard a drone before seeing six armed Cambodian soldiers moving closer to Thai military positions at the border. It said Thai soldiers tried to shout at them to defuse the situation, but the Cambodian side started to open fire.

Cambodia's Defense Ministry, however, said Thailand deployed a drone first before opening fire, and that Cambodia "acted strictly within the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity."

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to the current president of the UN Security Council asking for an urgent meeting "to stop Thailand's aggression."

The Thai military said it has deployed six F-16 fighter jets to Kap Choeng district in Surin province - an area near the border, while the Cambodian Defence Ministry said Thai jets dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, which has been the site of some of the most prominent and violent past conflicts between the countries. Thailand's Foreign Ministry accused Cambodia of attacking both military and non-military sites in Thailand, including a hospital.

"The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand's sovereignty in accordance with international law and principles," said Nikorndej Balankura, the ministry's spokesperson.

Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said 11 people have died, including 10 civilians and one soldier. Meanwhile 28 have been injured, four of whom were soldiers and the rest civilians. Cambodia released no details on deaths or injuries on its side.

Daggers drawn

Thailand and Cambodia, who share more than 800km of land border, have clashed frequently over contentious areas. The contesting claims stem largely from a 1907 map drawn under French colonial rule that was used to separate Cambodia from Thailand.

Temple tension

Their hostilities concern overlapping claims around the Preah Vihear Temple, a centuries-old Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple has long been a symbol of contested sovereignty.

Political turmoil

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from duties in July after the leak of a phone call she had with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen, in which she criticised her own army’s actions in the dispute.

Latest trigger

Tensions worsened in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a clash in the contested border area of the Emerald Triangle, where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet.