Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash

By Jintmas Saksornchai and Sopheng Cheang Associated Press SURIN Thailand Tens of thousands of people sought refuge as demarcation fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching The U N Safeguard Council held an crisis meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York while Malaysia which chairs the -nation regional bloc that includes both countries called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate Related Articles Syria s leader urges Bedouin tribes to commit to a ceasefire ending clashes with the Druze Opinion Play might be what we need to fix democracy a lesson from our kids The council did not issue a declaration but a council diplomat explained all members called on the parties to deescalate show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully The council also urged the regional bloc the Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN to help resolve the territory line fighting the diplomat reported speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private Cambodia s U N Ambassador Chhea Keo described reporters afterward that his country which called for the urgency meeting inquired for immediate ceasefires unconditionally and we also call for the peaceful response to the dispute He responded to accusations that Cambodia attacked Thailand asking how a small country with no air force could attack a much larger country with an army three times its size stressing We do not do that UN Safeguard Council urges restraint by both sides Keo revealed the Protection Council called for both sides to exercise maximum restraint and resort to diplomatic key which is what Cambodia is calling for as well Appealed what he expects next the ambassador explained Let s see how the call can be heard by all the members there Thailand s U N ambassador left the meeting without stopping to talk to reporters The Thai Fitness Ministry on Friday disclosed more than have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected limit provinces while Cambodian officials announced more than people have evacuated from areas near the territory line The latest flare-up in a long-running perimeter dispute between the two countries has killed at least people in Thailand mostly civilians while Cambodia reported Saturday that people more people have killed on its side bringing its death toll to Thailand s acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai explained Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians and damage caused to a hospital He announced Thailand had exercised the utmost restraint and patience in the face of provocations and aggression from Cambodia Tensions over a disputed limit area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the perimeter wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday Clashes break out across boundary areas The Thai military communicated clashes early Friday in multiple areas along the demarcation including near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple claimed by both sides Associated Press reporters near the territory line could hear sounds of artillery from early morning hours The Thai army declared Cambodian forces had used heavy artillery and Russian-made BM- rocket launchers prompting what Thai executives described as appropriate supporting fire in return Thailand announced six of its soldiers and civilians were killed while soldiers and civilians were wounded Early Saturday Cambodian Gen Maly Socheata spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense recounted reporters Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers have died from two days of fighting It earlier revealed one fatality a man who was killed when the pagoda he was hiding in got hit by Thai rockets The Cambodian Guidance Ministry claimed that on Friday two Thai rockets had hit a school compound in Oddar Meanchey but caused no injuries It declared all schools in the province have been closed The Thai army denied it targeted civilian sites in Cambodia and accused Cambodia of using human shields by positioning their weapons near residential areas Thousands flee villages near the demarcation As the fighting intensified villagers on both sides have been caught in the crossfire leading plenty of to flee Around people took shelter at a gymnasium in a university in Surin Thailand about kilometers miles from the demarcation Evacuees sat in groups on mats and blankets and queued for food and drinks Seamstress Pornpan Sooksai was accompanied by four cats in two fabric carriers She revealed she was doing laundry at her home near Ta Muen Thom temple when shelling began Thursday I just heard boom boom We already prepared the cages clothes and everything so we ran and carried our things to the car I was frightened scared she recalled Rattana Meeying another evacuee explained she had also lived through the clashes between the two countries but described this flare-up as worse Children old people were hit out of the blue she noted I never imagined it would be this violent At the nearby Phanom Dong Rak hospital periodic explosions could be heard Friday and a military truck arrived with three injured Thai soldiers including one who had both legs severed Thursday s shelling shattered windows at one of the hospital s buildings and damaged its roof In the neighboring Sisaket province more villagers took their belongings and left homes in a stream of cars trucks and motorbikes after they received an evacuation order on Friday Across the confines in Cambodia villages on the outskirts of Oddar Meanchey province were largely deserted Homes stood locked while chickens and dogs roamed outside Chosen villagers earlier dug holes to create makeshift underground bunkers covering them with wood tarpaulin and zinc sheets to shield themselves from shelling Families with children were seen packing their belongings on home-made tractors to evacuate though a inadequate men refused to leave A remote Buddhist temple surrounded by rice fields accommodated several hundred evacuated villagers Women rested in hammocks specific cradling babies while children ran about Makeshift plastic tents were being set up under the trees Veng Chin pleaded with both governments to negotiate a settlement so that I can return to my home and work on the farm ASEAN chair calls for calm The conflict marks a rare instance of armed confrontation between ASEAN member countries though Thailand has tangled with Cambodia before over the frontier and has had sporadic skirmishes with western neighbor Myanmar Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim disclosed Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to a ceasefire and to withdraw their troops from the edge but requested more time before implementing the action according to a statement by Malaysia s Bernama national news agency Anwar revealed he had spoken to both Cambodian leader Hun Manet and Thailand s Phumtham and urged them to open space for peaceful dialogue and diplomatic resolution while offering to have Malaysia facilitate talks U N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also called for restraint and urged both countries to resolve disputes through dialogue according to U N deputy spokesman Farhan Haq It s the latest flareup in longstanding edge tensions The -kilometer -mile frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades but past confrontations have been limited and brief The last major flare-up in left dead The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand s domestic politics Things got worse when a land mine wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday leading Bangkok to close the boundary and expel the Cambodian ambassador The next day clashes broke out along the edge Associated Press writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur and Edith M Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this assessment