Bangkok – Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed in several areas along their border Thursday in a major climbing of their conflict which left at least 11 dead, mainly civilians. The two sides have pulled light weapons, artillery and rockets, and Thailand has also called air strikes.
The Thai villagers could be seen on video fleeing their houses to look for a shelter while clashes were starting in the morning.
The fighting was underway in at least six areas along the border, said the spokesperson for the Thai Defense Ministry, overhanging Kongsiri. The trigger for the clashes was an explosion of mine along the border on Wednesday which injured five Thai soldiers and led Bangkok to withdraw his ambassador to Cambodia and expelled Cambodia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand said that all of the lands passages with Cambodia were sealed and that the communities near the border had been evacuated. He urged all Thai nationals to leave Cambodia.
Army region 2 via Facebook / handout via Reuters 
The neighbors of Southeast Asia have long-standing border disputes which are evolving periodically along their 500-thousand border and generally lead to brief confrontations which sometimes involve exchanges of gunshots. But relations have deteriorated strongly since a confrontation in May who killed a Cambodian soldier, and the clashes on Thursday were much more important in scale and intensity than usual.
The United States Embassy in Thailand has noted “combat, including rocket and artillery fires, between Cambodian and Thai forces along the border”, and said that the Thai government “ordered the evacuation of certain regions”.
“American citizens living or traveling near the Thailand-Cambodie border should follow the management of Thai security services and consult the local authorities for the latest information”, The embassy said.
The first confrontation Thursday morning occurred in an area near the old temple of Ta Muen Thom along the border of the province of Surin in Thailand and the province of Meanchey Oddchey of Cambodia.
A video on the Thai side showed people flowing from their house and hiding in a concrete bunker when the explosions were sounded.
Sunny Chittawil / AP 
The Thai army said its forces heard a drone before seeing six armed Cambodian soldiers get closer to Thai military positions on the border. He said Thai soldiers tried to scream them to defuse the situation, but the Cambodian part began to open fire.
The Cambodia Ministry of Defense, however, said that Thailand had deployed a drone before opening fire, and that Cambodia “acted strictly within the limits of self -defense, responding to an incursion not caused by Thai troops which violated our territorial integrity”.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to the current President of the United Nations Security Council to request an urgent meeting “to stop the attack on Thailand”.
The Thai army said that it later launched air strikes on military targets in Cambodia, while the Cambodian Defense Ministry said that Thai planes had dropped bombs on a road near the former Preah Vihear temple, which was the site of some of the most prominent and violent past conflicts.
The Thai Foreign Ministry accused Cambodia of having attacked both military and non -military sites in Thailand, including a hospital.
“The Royal Thai government is ready to intensify our self-defense measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and its violations on the sovereignty of Thailand in accordance with international law and principles,” said Nikorndej Balankura, ministry spokesperson.
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Thai Prime Minister Thai, Phumtham Wechayachai, said that 11 people died, including 10 civilians and a soldier. Meanwhile, 28 were injured, including four soldiers and other civilians.
Cambodia has not published any details on deaths or injuries on its side.
On Wednesday, Thailand withdrew its ambassador to Cambodia and expelled the Cambodian ambassador to protest the explosion of the mine that injured its soldiers.
The Thai authorities allegedly alleged that the mines were newly placed on the paths that the two parties had contained were supposed to be safe. They said that the mines were of Russian manufacturing and not a type used by the soldiers of Thailand.
Cambodia rejected the account of Thailand as “baseless accusations”, stressing that many unplodced mines and other ammunition are a heritage of 20th century wars and troubles.
Cambodia has also downgraded diplomatic relations, recalling Thursday all the Cambodian staff of its embassy in Bangkok.
The border dispute in May which led to the death of a Cambodian soldier had political benefits in Thailand. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was criticized for being too affectionate during a telephone call with her Cambodian counterpart when she tried to defuse the situation. She has since been suspended from her duties while waiting for an investigation into possible ethics violations on this subject.
