Over 150,000 Evacuated as Thailand, Cambodia Clashes Enter Second Day

The Two Countries Trade Accusations as Fighting Spreads to New Border Areas

- Philip Wen

BURIRAM, Thailand – The explosions were loud and came without warning. It was quickly apparent that the blasts were too close for comfort, and the decision was made to flee.

"We were alarmed, shocked," said Ms Sopa Suayprakhon, 54, a rice farmer from Ban Kruat district in Thailand's Buriram province, bordering Cambodia. "Just very scared."

She said villagers estimated that the blasts on July 25 were less than a kilometer away.

Similar scenes have been playing out at hot spots along the long, porous and disputed border Thailand shares with Cambodia since fighting erupted on July 24.

The Thai authorities said more than 130,000 people from four north-eastern border provinces have been evacuated to emergency shelters as at July 25, with the number expected to rise as heavy artillery fighting intensified and spread into new areas.

At least 16 people have been killed, including 14 Thai civilians.

Both countries have accused each other of starting the conflict and shown little appetite for de-escalation. Cambodia says Thailand deployed cluster munitions—bombs that spread many smaller explosives over a wide area, posing an indiscriminate threat to civilians.