Cambodia, Thailand trade fire and accusations hours after Trump intervenes for ceasefire

Phnom Penh [Cambodia], July 27 : Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday accused each other of launching artillery attacks, just hours after US President Donald Trump said both countries had agreed to hash out a ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported.

The attacks on Sunday came after both sides said they were willing to start talks to end the fighting over their border dispute after Trump spoke to their leaders late on Saturday.

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Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbours, the death toll stood above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia.

Over 2,00,000 people have also been evacuated from border areas in the two countries, authorities said, as per Al Jazeera.

Cambodia said it fully endorsed Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire. Thailand, on the other hand, said while it was grateful to Trump, it could not begin talks while Cambodia was targeting its civilians, a claim that Phnom Penh has denied.

"We have proposed a bilateral between our foreign ministers to conclude the conditions for a ceasefire and drawing back troops and long-range weapons," acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters, before heading off to visit border areas.

However, artillery exchanges broke out on Sunday morning, with both nations blaming each other, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence said Thailand shelled and launched ground assaults on Sunday morning at a number of points along the border. The ministry's spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes.

Meanwhile, the Thai army said Cambodian forces fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes, early on Sunday and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers.

Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples of Ta Moan Thom and the 11th-century Preah Vihear central to the dispute, Al Jazeera reported.

Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tensions escalated in 2008 after Cambodia tried to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and skirmishes over several years killed at least a dozen people, Al Jazeera reported.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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