Bangkok/Samraong, Cambodia, Dec 15 (EFE).- Cambodia accused Thailand on Monday of bombing a district located about 88 kilometers (around 55 miles) from the iconic and touristic Hindu temple Angkor Wat, as the border clashes between the two countries reached their ninth day.
According to Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra, at 10.11am local time, a Thai Army F-16 fighter aircraft dropped a bomb on Srei Snam district, located in Siem Reap province and 88 km northwest of the famous Angkor Wat, visited by more than 900,00 people so far this year.
Minutes earlier, according to Cambodian authorities, another bomb fell on the Chong Kal district, 103 km northwest of the UNESCO World Heritage temple. Cambodia has raised the number of civilians killed to 12 and reported 74 wounded.
According to Phnom Penh, the bombings took place near refugee camps, more than 70 kilometers into Cambodian territory, which means the conflict has expanded beyond the border areas.
Thailand, with a significantly stronger army than Cambodia’s, has reported 26 deaths – 10 civilians and 16 soldiers – and 327 wounded.
Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri told a press conference that there have been 505 casualties in the Cambodian army, while Phnom Penh is yet to release information regarding losses among its military.
Last week, Phnom Penh dismissed Thailand’s reports of Cambodian soldiers killed as “false.”
These clashes have been underway since Dec. 17 at several places along the 820km (around 510 miles) border between the two countries.
Thailand and Cambodia, which also experienced five days of similar clashes in July that killed around 50 people, dispute sovereignty over several border areas mapped by France in 1907, when Cambodia was part of French Indochina. EFE
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