THAI troops fired warning shots at the borderline in Sa Kaeo province at 4.10 p.m. today (Nov. 12) after Cambodian soldiers unleashed small arms fire with the incident calming down after approximately 10 minutes, Naewna newspaper, TV Channel 7 and Amarin TV said.
While the Thai side did not suffer any casualties Cambodian authorities later said one civilian had been killed.
Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvari, the Thai Army spokesperson, said Thai soldiers took cover and fired warning shots at the incoming fire at Ban Nong Ya Kaew, Khok Sung district, in accordance with the rules of the armed forces.
The First Army Region later said that Cambodia started the border clash by firing approximately 30 rounds from what appeared to be AK-47 rifles with the Thai side firing warning shots to quell the situation and protect national sovereignty.
This clash lasted around 10 minutes and retaliation was the last resort in such a situation with Thai soldiers taking utmost care to avoid hitting civilian targets under international law. They stopped firing immediately after the enemy threat ceased.
However later Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities issued a statement alleging that at 4.03 p.m. Thai soldiers fired shots across the border resulting in the death of a Cambodian civilian.
They have reported the incident to their Interior and Defence ministries while also coordinating with relevant border agencies and the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to urgently investigate the incident.
Earlier the Army Military Force Facebook page shared a video showing Thai troops finding a PMN-2 landmine in a bunker on the frontline which Cambodian troops who sneaked across the barbed wire fence had placed there.
A Thai sergeant major said the landmine was placed in the bunker by Khmer soldiers who then quickly fled but the team building this bunker happened to be close by and fortunately it did not detonate.
CAPTION:
Thai soldiers guarding the border. Photo – Amarin TV
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