Thousands flee homes as Thailand, Cambodia clash

Thousands of people sought refuge as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday, heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching 32.

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The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs the 10-nation regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate.

The council did not issue a statement but a council diplomat said all 15 members called on the parties to deescalate, show restraint, and resolve the dispute peacefully. The council also urged the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN, to help resolve the border fighting, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.

Cambodia’s UN Ambassador Chhea Keo told reporters afterward that his country, which called for the emergency meeting, “asked for immediate ceasefires, unconditionally, and we also call for the peaceful solution to the dispute.”