Urgent travel warning for Aussies, amid deadly clashes
Australian travellers have been warned to “reconsider” travelling to border areas of Thailand and Cambodia as conflict escalates, with at least 14 people dead.
Smartraveller updated its official warnings for both nations on Thursday amid shelling and the use of fighter jets in the disputed border area this week.
“We’ve reviewed our advice for Thailand and continue to advise exercise a high degree of caution overall. We now advise reconsider your need to travel to the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces due to armed conflict in the area,” it said in an official update.
The federal government’s official advisory website said its advice for Cambodia was to “to advise exercise normal safety precautions overall”. But there was special mention of the border area, where there has been shelling this week.
“We now advise reconsider your need to travel to the border area of the north-western provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey due to armed conflict in the area,” Smartraveller said.
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On Friday, clashes resumed between Thai and Cambodian soldiers along the border.
Cambodia’s chief official in Oddar Meanchey province, General Khov Ly, said clashes resumed early in the morning near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple. Associated Press reporters near the border could hear sounds of artillery from early morning hours.
Ly said at least four civilians were wounded in Thursday’s fighting and that more than 4000 people had been displaced from villages along the border to evacuation centres. It was the first account of any casualties from the Cambodian side.
On Thursday, Thai Defence Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said there had been fighting in at least six areas. On Wednesday, a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers and led Bangkok to withdraw its ambassador from Cambodia and expel Cambodia’s envoy to Thailand.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides “to exercise maximum restraint and address any issues through dialogue”, according to UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the clashes, alleging that civilians are being targeted.
In Bangkok, the Public Health Ministry said a Thai soldier and 13 civilians, including children, were killed while 14 soldiers and 32 other civilians were injured. Minister Somsak Thepsuthin condemned what he said were the attacks on civilians and a hospital as violations of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
“We urge the Cambodian government to immediately halt these war criminal actions, and return to respecting the principles of peaceful coexistence,” he said.
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The Interior Ministry was ordered to evacuate people at least 50 kilometres from the border.
Source: Google Maps
In Cambodia, hundreds of villagers moved from their homes near the border to about 30 kilometres deeper inside Oddar Meanchey province. Many travelled with entire families and most of their possessions on home-made tractors, before settling down with hammocks and makeshift shelters.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to the UN Security Council asking for an urgent meeting “to stop Thailand’s aggression”. The council has scheduled an emergency closed meeting in New York on Friday.
The two South-East Asian neighbours have long had border disputes, which periodically flare along their 800-kilometre frontier. Confrontations are usually brief and rarely involve the use of weapons. The last major combat outbreak was in 2011, leaving 20 dead.
However, relations have deteriorated sharply since a confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier.
The Thai army and Cambodia’s Defence Ministry each said the other side deployed drones before advancing on the other’s positions and opening fire. The two sides later used heavier weaponry such as artillery, causing greater damage and casualties, and Thailand said it responded with airstrikes to truck-mounted rockets launched by Cambodia.
Thailand’s air force said it used F-16 fighter jets in two attacks on Cambodia.
Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said the Thai jets dropped bombs that damaged the ancient Preah Vihear temple, a site of past conflicts between the two countries.
The country’s Culture Ministry said Cambodia would pursue justice under international law, since the temple was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the UN’s cultural organisation, and is a “historical legacy of the Cambodian people”.
Thai authorities allege land mines were newly laid along paths that both sides had agreed were supposed to be safe. They said the mines were Russian-made and not of a type used by Thailand’s military.
Cambodia rejected Thailand’s account as “baseless accusations”, pointing out that unexploded mines and other ordnance are a legacy of 20th century wars and unrest.
-with AAP
