BANGKOK
\nThailand launched air strikes Monday on its neighbour Cambodia, with both sides trading blame for renewed fighting on their disputed border that has killed four Cambodian civilians and a Thai soldier. Around 35,000 people in Thailand have been evacuated from border areas, the country\u2019s Second Army Region said in a statement.
\nFive days of combat between Thailand and Cambodia this summer killed 43 people and displaced around 300,000 on both sides of the border before a truce took effect. But last month Thailand paused a follow-on deal backed by US President Donald Trump to wind down hostilities, saying a landmine blast at the border had wounded several soldiers. Since then, Cambodian and Thai officials have reported sporadic skirmishes along their frontier, which reignited Sunday and Monday.
\nCambodia\u2019s information minister Neth Pheaktra told media that \u201cat least four Cambodian civilians were killed in the Thai attacks\u201d on Monday, including a woman who died when a shell hit in Preah Vihear province. The three others were killed by shelling in Oddar Meanchey, and more than 10 civilians were wounded, Neth Pheaktra said. A Cambodian journalist was wounded by shrapnel from a Thai rocket in Oddar Meanchey, he added.
\nThe fresh fighting has sent thousands of civilians in both countries fleeing their homes. \u201cThe village head told us to evacuate, and given what happened in July, I complied immediately,\u201d said farmer Pannarat Woratham who lives just a few kilometres from the border in Thailand\u2019s Surin province and evacuated Sunday afternoon to a temple sheltering the displaced.
\nIt was the second time the 59-year-old had fled since late July when open combat was waged with fighter jets, missile strikes and ground troops, killing both civilians and soldiers. \u201cOf course many of us thought the conflict was finally over. It shouldn\u2019t have happened again like this,\u201d Pannarat told AFP.
\nNeth Pheaktra, the minister, told reporters at least 1,157 families had evacuated to safety in Oddar Meanchey alone.The conflict centres on a century-old disagreement over borders mapped during France\u2019s colonial rule in the region, with both sides claiming a smattering of boundary temples.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANGKOK Thailand launched air strikes Monday on its neighbour Cambodia, with both sides trading blame for renewed fighting on their disputed border that has killed four Cambodian civilians and a Thai soldier. Around 35,000 people in Thailand have been evacuated from border areas, the country\u2019s Second Army Region said in a statement. Five days of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-518923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n