Thailand launches airstrikes against targets in Cambodia

Thailand launched airstrikes on Thursday against two military targets in Cambodia, the Thai military announced, following clashes between the armed forces of the two countries that have already left at least one person dead.

"F-16s have launched strikes! Cambodian military posts of the 8th and 9th divisions [special forces commandos] have been destroyed ," the Thai army's Second Region division, deployed in the northeast, said in a Facebook post.

The Cambodian Defense Ministry condemned Thailand's "brutal military aggression" and added that Phnom Penh "has no choice but to use its sovereign and territorial rights to defend itself against the Thai army's invasion."

Meanwhile, the Thai Embassy in Cambodia has urged Thai citizens to leave the country following clashes between the two nations' armies, which began this Thursday, and given the possibility that the attacks will "continue and expand." The Thai government has also decided to expel the Cambodian ambassador from Bangkok.

Previously, the Thai military said that Phnom Penh forces opened fire in a border area of Surin province and that six Cambodian soldiers were outside a Thai operations base "fully armed, including with rocket launchers." The countries accuse each other of starting the conflict after weeks of tension.

The Thai Prime Minister's office announced the death of a Thai civilian in the clash in the northeast of the country. "A Cambodian artillery shell hit the home of a Thai civilian, killing one person, seriously wounding a five-year-old child, and injuring two others," the same source said in a statement.

Amid the resurgence of the historic territorial dispute between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that he received a "report shortly after 8:00 a.m. [2:00 a.m. in Lisbon] that shots were fired." "We are investigating the details," he continued.

"The situation requires extreme caution and must be handled in accordance with international law. I don't want to go into details at this time and ask the media to report with caution, as emergencies can arise at any time," Wechayachai added.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Senate President and former leader Hun Sen accused Thai forces of initiating the attack. "The Cambodian army has no choice but to retaliate and counterattack," Hun Sen also wrote on Facebook .

Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over the more than 800-kilometer border, largely defined by agreements reached during the French occupation of Indochina between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. The dispute intensified in late May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a shootout between the two armies.

This is the second incident of its kind this month, and comes a day after a Thai soldier lost his right leg after stepping on a landmine in border territory in Ubon Ratchathani.

Bangkok holds Cambodia responsible for planting landmines on Thai territory, which it says constitutes a violation of the Ottawa Convention, an international agreement that prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines, according to public broadcaster Thai PBS.

In 2011, clashes around the Preah Vihear temple, classified as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and claimed by both countries, caused at least 28 deaths and displaced tens of thousands.

Although in 2013 the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's main jurisdictional body, awarded the disputed area below the temple to Cambodia, the layout of other areas continues to oppose Bangkok and Phnom Penh.