Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating 10-day-old truce

Thailand accused Cambodia of violating a 10-day-old truce on Tuesday, saying cross-border mortar fire wounded a soldier, while Phnom Penh said a “pile of garbage” exploded, injuring two of its own troops.

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Bangkok's foreign ministry said Thai forces “did not retaliate,” opting instead to contact the Cambodian side to verify what happened, adding that Phnom Penh “claimed it was an accident.”

The Thai ministry also urged Cambodia to “prevent such incidents from recurring” and issue an apology, according to a statement.

A decades-old border dispute between the Southeast Asian nations erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing around one million on both sides.

The two countries agreed to a fragile truce on Dec.27, ending three weeks of clashes.

Cambodia “violated the ceasefire” on Tuesday morning, the Thai army said in a statement, accusing Cambodian forces of firing mortar rounds into Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province.

One Thai soldier was hospitalised due to non-life-threatening shrapnel wounds to his right arm, the army said.

The Thai army said in a separate statement that the Cambodian side had contacted a Thai military unit and claimed “there was no intention to fire into Thai territory.”