The Thai military launched an attack on Cambodian army positions in the An Ses area of Preah Vihear province, firing mortars and small arms for nearly 30 minutes, violating the ceasefire agreement, according to Cambodian officials.
According to Cambodian National Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata, the shelling began at 11:52 a.m, with Cambodia calling on the Thai side to “fully and consistently” implement the ceasefire to promote peace and stability in the two countries and return to normalcy as soon as possible.
Preah Vihear provincial spokesperson Kim Chanpanha said after 30 minutes of shelling by the Thai military, the situation returned to normal, noting that the Cambodian army did not fire back.
Asked if there were casualties from the incident, he declined to comment and referred questions, including the events preceding the Thai shelling, to the National Defense Ministry.
“The situation was calm about two hours ago [2:22 p.m]. Our troops maintained high patience, there was no shooting back.”
He said that people living near the border have traveled to safer places over the period, with their planned may destination being 5000 Buddhist Trees Pagoda and Oddarkiri Tuol Andet Pagoda.
From September 24 to 26, nearly 300 families fled back to the displacement camps located along the Cambodia-Thailand border in Preah Vihear province. The departures come amid fresh reports of gunfire and alleged troop buildups.
Pressed for more information on the incident, ministry spokesperson Socheata told CamboJA News to follow the press release from their Facebook page.
Thai news outlet Khaosod English reported that the Thai military remained on high alert at Chong An Ma, Ubon Ratchathani province in Thailand, alleging that troops from Cambodian troops “fired machine guns and grenades at 12:03 p.m. on September 27”, prompting Thai soldiers to return fire with equivalent force.
The portal wrote that the exchange of fire ceased around 12:30 p.m. when Thai forces stopped firing. No Thai casualties were reported.
They quoted Thai army spokesperson, Major General Winthai Suvaree, who alleged that Cambodia created the situation to “provoke” and “collect evidence” to show the Interim Observation Team (IOT) that Thailand breached the ceasefire deal.
A farmer living in Kantuot village, Kantuot commune, Choam Ksan district, Phat Soeum, said his family is preparing to leave their home again, for the third time. He added that local authorities have told him to be prepared. After the shooting from the Thai side on Saturday, some of the villagers started to leave for safer places.
He hopes that Cambodia and Thailand will declare peace soon so that he can return to farming.
“I am scared at times like this. I want both countries to be peaceful and go back to normal because it has not been easy and safe [for us]. The war is making it difficult to live. We have rice fields and farms. We work on the rice fields, but we can’t farm when the situation is like this.”
On July 28, Cambodia and Thailand reached an agreement for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire starting at midnight, with ASEAN agreeing to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire to ensure both parties uphold the agreement.
On August 7, both parties agreed to a 13-point agreement, including a ceasefire and the use of any kind of weapons, attacks on civilians, and to avoid unprovoked firing at each other’s troops.
The terms also included a ban on new troop movements or reinforcements, protections for civilians, stronger communication and the immediate return of captured soldiers with no further hostilities. Both parties agreed to not violate the terms under any circumstances.
Pending the establishment of the ASEAN Observer Team, the IOT comprising defense attaches from the region has been monitoring the ceasefire, making trips to the border since the agreement was reached last month.
Note: This article’s headline was updated at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
