'We are neighbours': Fleeing Thais and Cambodians call for peace

As Cambodia and Thailand traded deadly strikes, fleeing civilians on both sides described their cross-border neighbours as "siblings" and "friends" — swopping calls for peace against the backdrop of artillery barrages.

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Kanthararom, Thailand - As Cambodia and Thailand traded deadly strikes, fleeing civilians on both sides described their cross-border neighbours as "siblings" and "friends" — swopping calls for peace against the backdrop of artillery barrages.

The death toll from three days of fighting has risen to 33 — the majority civilians — after a long-running border dispute sharply escalated into combat waged with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops.

"Relations used to be good — we were like siblings," said 56-year-old Sai Boonrod, one of hundreds of Thais sheltering at a temple in the town of Kanthararom after evacuating her border village home.

"But now things may have changed," she told AFP. "I just want the fighting to end so we can go back to being like siblings again."