- Cambodia says two civilians were killed overnight.
- A Thai soldier dies in combat.
- Each side accuses the other of being responsible for the clashes.
Thailand said on Tuesday it was taking steps to expel Cambodian forces from its territory, as fresh fighting between the two Southeast Asian neighbors spread along the disputed border.
Each side blamed the other for the clashes, which derailed a fragile ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and ended five days of fighting in July.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said two civilians were killed overnight, bringing the death toll to six. A Thai soldier died in the fighting.
In a statement Tuesday morning, the Thai navy said Cambodian forces had been detected on Thai territory in the coastal province of Trat and military operations had been launched to expel them, without providing further details.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Monday evening that Thailand “must not use military force to attack civilian villages under the pretext of regaining its sovereignty.”
Earlier, Cambodia said it did not retaliate even after its forces came under sustained attack.
The Thai navy said Cambodian forces were increasing their presence, deploying snipers and heavy weapons, improving fortified positions and digging trenches, adding that it considered these actions “a direct and serious threat to Thailand’s sovereignty.”
Monday’s clashes were the most violent since five days of exchanges of rockets and heavy artillery in July, in which at least 48 people were killed and 300,000 displaced, before Trump intervened to broker a ceasefire.
Thailand evacuated 438,000 civilians in five border provinces and Cambodian authorities said hundreds of thousands had been brought to safety. The Thai military said 18 soldiers were injured and the Cambodian government reported nine civilians injured.
Thailand and Cambodia have fought over sovereignty over undemarcated points along their 817 km (508 mile) land border for more than a century, with disputes over ancient temples stoking nationalist fervor and occasional armed flare-ups, including a deadly week-long artillery exchange in 2011.
Tensions rose in May following the death of a Cambodian soldier during a skirmish, which led to a large troop build-up at the border and escalated into diplomatic rifts and armed clashes.
