Thai-Cambodia border clashes send half a million into 'shelters'

Half a million evacuees in Cambodia and Thailand were sheltering in pagodas, schools and other safe havens on Wednesday after fleeing fresh fighting in a longstanding border dispute in which US President Donald Trump has vowed to again intercede.

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At least 14 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the latest fighting, officials said, while more than 500,000 people have fled border areas near where jets, tanks and drones were waging battle.

AFP journalists in northwestern Cambodia's Samraongtown on Wednesday morning heard the blasts of incoming artillery from the direction of centuries-old temples in disputed border areas.

By the afternoon, hundreds of families were leaving a shelter at a pagoda near Samraong where they had been staying since Monday.

Many took shelter in university halls, sitting or lying on thin mats, or in tents erected within their allotted space. Music played to help relieve stress. Health officials checked on evacuees, while volunteers organized activities to entertain children.

"Authorities say it is not safe anymore," said Seut Soeung, 30, as she rested alongside a road with her family and vehicles passed by loaded with people, dogs and bags of clothes.