Thailand Cambodia War: Thailand and Cambodia are at the loggerheads again. The two countries, which signed a peace accord in the presence of US President Donald Trump, earlier in October.
Thousands of civilians along the border of both countries were seen fleeing after an escalation of violence.
A Thai military spokesman said Cambodian military positions were bombed after a Thai soldier was killed in an exchange of fire along the disputed border. In contrast, Cambodia said four civilians have been killed in gunfire initiated by the Thai Army in its northern border provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman, Lieutenant General Maly Socheata, said Thailand moved on to the use of tanks, toxic gas and artillery fire shortly before 0700 on Monday, attacking both Cambodian forces and civilian locations.
Roots of the Explosive Conflict- Thailand Cambodia War
The 817-km border feud, centered on Preah Vihear temple awarded to Cambodia by the 1962 International Court of Justice (ICJ), is fuelled by colonial ghosts and nationalist fire.
For a few years, the issue became dormant as Cambodia became the victim of a civil war. In 2008, the dispute erupted into open conflict following the nomination of the Preah Vihear temple by Cambodia as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This resulted in mass-scale protests by the residents of Thailand. At the same time, disputes also aroused over other overlapping border areas, including those around the ancient Khmer temples of Prasat Ta Muen Thom and Prasat Ta Krabey.
Thailand-Cambodia Peace Agreement
The Thailand-Cambodia peace agreement was signed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakulin Kuala Lumpur in the presence of US President Donald Trump, alongside Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN Chair Anwar Ibrahim. Trump then announced that the United States had signed a new trade deal with Cambodia along with a strategic minerals partnership with Thailand.
