Cambodia says Thai fighter jets bomb its border village

Cambodian officials accused Thai F-16s of dropping 40 bombs on border villages in Banteay Meanchey, damaging homes and infrastructure. Clashes follow long-standing territorial disputes, while US Secretary Rubio urged full implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords to restore stability

Phnom Penh: Cambodian Defence Ministry’s Undersecretary of State and spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said on Friday that Thai F-16 fighter jets dropped as many as 40 bombs in a border village in Banteay Meanchey province.

She said in a press briefing that the bombardment destroyed civilian houses as well as public infrastructures in Chok Chey village. The Thai military also fired artillery shells into a civilian residential area in Poipet Municipality of Banteay Meanchey province, she added.

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Earlier on December 25, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had urged the full implementation of the Peace Accords amid ongoing violence between Cambodia and Thailand.

During a phone conversation with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, “Secretary Rubio reaffirmed that the United States stands ready to facilitate discussions aimed at ensuring peace and stability between Cambodia and Thailand,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

Rubio had stressed the importance of both countries fully implementing the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords. The recent clashes along the Thailand-Cambodia border, stemming from long-standing territorial disputes dating back to the colonial era, reignited in late May following military confrontations in border regions.

On Thursday, Thailand’s military announced that border negotiations with Cambodia entered the second day, with overall clashes along the frontier showing a downward trend.

According to Thai media reports, the Secretariat meeting of the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) kicked off at around 9 am local time on the Thai side of the border in Chanthaburi province.

Around 30 Cambodian delegates attended the meeting, while Malaysian members of the ASEAN observer team in Thailand also presented.

In a press briefing held on Thursday, a Thai military spokesperson stated that the intensity of border skirmishes between the two countries has generally decreased, with exchanges of fire remaining confined to localised areas. On October 26, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia had signed a joint peace declaration. Just two months later, however, violence erupted again.