Cambodia says Thai airstrikes hit Siem Reap, home province of heritage temples

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia accused Thailand on Monday (Dec 15) of striking deep inside its territory, bombing areas less than a two-hour drive from the country’s main tourist draw, the centuries-old Angkor temples, in a reignited border conflict.

Dozens of people were killed in five days of fighting in July before a truce was brokered and then broken within months, part of a long-standing conflict rooted in the colonial-era demarcation of the countries’ 800km frontier.

Renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours this month has killed at least 28 people, including soldiers and civilians, and displaced around 800,000, officials said.

Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fighting, claiming self-defence and trading accusations of attacks on civilians.

Cambodia, which is outgunned and outspent by Thailand’s military, said Thai forces had expanded their attack “deep into” Cambodian territory on Monday morning.

Cambodia’s defence ministry said in a statement that a Thai fighter jet had bombed “near a displaced civilians camp in the area of Srei Snam district, Siem Reap province”.

Information minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP it was the first time during the renewed clashes that Thailand’s military had bombed areas of Siem Reap province, the home of the Angkor temple complex and its top tourist attraction, the UNESCO heritage site Angkor Wat.

Neth Pheaktra said Thai F-16s had penetrated more than 70km into Cambodian territory.