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 territory line 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 Safety Council held an urgency 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 message but a council diplomat noted 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 edge fighting the diplomat explained speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private Cambodia s U N Ambassador Chhea Keo advised reporters afterward that his country which called for the emergency meeting requested for immediate ceasefires unconditionally and we also call for the peaceful remedy 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 Guard Council urges restraint by both sides Keo explained the Prevention Council called for both sides to exercise maximum restraint and resort to diplomatic explanation which is what Cambodia is calling for as well Sought what he expects next the ambassador mentioned 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 announced more than have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected territory line provinces while Cambodian functionaries reported more than people have evacuated from areas near the margin 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 disclosed Saturday that people more people have killed on its side bringing its death toll to Thailand s acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai stated Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians and damage caused to a hospital He noted Thailand had exercised the utmost restraint and patience in the face of provocations and aggression from Cambodia Tensions over a disputed edge area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the edge wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday Clashes break out across limit areas The Thai military shared clashes early Friday in multiple areas along the confines including near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple claimed by both sides Associated Press reporters near the dividing line could hear sounds of artillery from early morning hours The Thai army explained Cambodian forces had used heavy artillery and Russian-made BM- rocket launchers prompting what Thai leaders described as appropriate supporting fire in return Thailand disclosed 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 informed reporters Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers have died from two days of fighting It earlier broadcasted one fatality a man who was killed when the pagoda he was hiding in got hit by Thai rockets The Cambodian Training Ministry claimed that on Friday two Thai rockets had hit a school compound in Oddar Meanchey but caused no injuries It commented 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 limit As the fighting intensified villagers on both sides have been caught in the crossfire leading countless 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 reported 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 stated 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 disclosed 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 Specific 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 several 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 perimeter and has had sporadic skirmishes with western neighbor Myanmar Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim declared Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to a ceasefire and to withdraw their troops from the frontier but requested more time before implementing the action according to a statement by Malaysia s Bernama national news agency Anwar noted 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 perimeter 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 limit Associated Press writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur and Edith M Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this account