Thai prime minister urges calm after Cambodian soldier killed in border clash

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Up to date Could 28, 2025, 11:40 a.m. ET

BANGKOK – The Thai prime minister stated Wednesday she spoke to her Cambodian counterpart to scale back tensions after Cambodia stated one in every of its troopers was killed in a quick gunfight with Thai troops at a delicate border area.

The ten-minute shootout at Hill 496 comes after weeks of mounting stress. The neighbors have a historical past of armed confrontation at disputed border areas.

Cambodia stated one in every of its troopers, Sgt. Suan Roan, 48, was killed throughout the combat, and the physique has been transported from the border for a funeral, The Related Press reported. The Thai military stated it suffered no casualties.

Rigidity has risen in current weeks after Thai troopers accused their Cambodian counterparts of burning a Thai-built friendship gazebo within the Chong Bok space of Thailand’s northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province, the place the Thai, Cambodian and Lao borders meet. There have additionally been disturbances on the historical shrine of Ta Moan Thom, in Surin province to the west. Each Thailand and Cambodia declare the positioning.

Following Wednesday’s conflict, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra stated each nations have been decided to forestall tensions from boiling over.

“[I] have talked to Prime Minister Hun Manet. [The incident] was minor. We've understanding and can ease the strain and can stop the reoccurrence,” she informed reporters.

Thai troopers have been directed to remain alert regardless of prime stage negotiations, the Thai military stated in a press release, including that Cambodia fired the primary shot and all Thai troopers have been protected.

<img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="In this Feb. 9, 2011, photo, a Cambodian soldier smokes a cigarette at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia." class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/CRDFANPHC5AKBKIHD7MHL7ZBOI.JPG?auth=2001a700386decfe08003985c491d1f855c36a7b1c7357bde9806161171cc371&width=800&height=533" srcset="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/CRDFANPHC5AKBKIHD7MHL7ZBOI.JPG?auth=2001a700386decfe08003985c491d1f855c36a7b1c7357bde9806161171cc371&width=274&height=182 274w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/CRDFANPHC5AKBKIHD7MHL7ZBOI.JPG?auth=2001a700386decfe08003985c491d1f855c36a7b1c7357bde9806161171cc371&width=400&height=266 400w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/CRDFANPHC5AKBKIHD7MHL7ZBOI.JPG?auth=2001a700386decfe08003985c491d1f855c36a7b1c7357bde9806161171cc371&width=768&height=511 768w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/CRDFANPHC5AKBKIHD7MHL7ZBOI.JPG?auth=2001a700386decfe08003985c491d1f855c36a7b1c7357bde9806161171cc371&width=1024&height=682 1024w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/CRDFANPHC5AKBKIHD7MHL7ZBOI.JPG?auth=2001a700386decfe08003985c491d1f855c36a7b1c7357bde9806161171cc371&width=1440&height=959 1440w" width="800" height="533"/> cambodia-thailand-clash On this Feb. 9, 2011, picture, a Cambodian soldier smokes a cigarette on the Eleventh-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters) In a put up on Fb, Cambodian Senate president and former prime minister Hun Sen expressed condolences to the household of the fallen soldier, and stated a peaceable border “ought to by no means witness such incidents.”

“I strongly condemn any particular person, entity, or authority that made the choice to hold out such an act of aggression, which resembles the incursions that occurred between 2008 and 2011 on the Preah Vihear temple,” Hun Sen wrote.

In 2011, there was a lethal conflict between Thai and Cambodia forces over an historical temple at Preah Vihear, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Web site. The U.N.’s Worldwide Courtroom of Justice granted sovereignty over the world to Cambodia in 2013.

This March, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet threatened to make use of navy pressure if the Thai navy despatched troopers to Ta Moan Thom temple web site.

The unfinished boundary demarcation there led to a confrontation between Cambodian troopers who visited the temple final month and Thai troopers who're stationed close by, in accordance with impartial on-line information outlet CamboJa.