Border clashes between two South Asian neighbors drag into 5th day with at least 35 deaths
Clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces dragged into the fifth day despite planned peace talks between the two neighbors in Malaysia on Monday, officials and local media reports said.
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia are set to meet for peace talks on Monday amid festering hostilities over a territorial dispute along their shared border.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry spokeswoman Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata accused the Thai forces of using chemical weapons, Khmer Times reported.
At a news press conference, Socheata said that the Thai forces opened an attack on Ta Moan Thom and Ta Krabei on Monday morning despite the fact that the Cambodian prime minister and acting Thai prime minister are scheduled to meet in Malaysia.
She alleged that since Sunday, Thai forces have been using air jets to carry out poison gas attacks on several Cambodian areas.
There was no immediate reaction from Thailand to her accusations.
Before departing for Malaysia, Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that he does not believe Cambodia is acting "in good faith."
"They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting," he added.
In a statement, the US State Department said the US officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts. "Both (US) President (Donald) Trump and I remain engaged with our respective counterparts for each country and are monitoring the situation very closely. We want this conflict to end as soon as possible," the statement quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying.
In a related development, ASEAN foreign ministers on Monday called for an immediate ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, expressing deep concern over the rising death toll and humanitarian impact along their contested border, the Malaysian English daily Malay Mail reported.
At least 35 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced in clashes between the two forces since Thursday.
* Writing by Aamir Latif.
