Cambodia – A long-standing conflict has gotten a violent twist with Cambodia accusing the Thai forces of conducting a ruthless aerial assault in the early morning hours of Friday.
Although the two countries were in the middle of new negotiations to resolve the Cambodia-Thailand Border Conflict, Thai fighter jets are reported to have dropped dozens of bombs in the village of Chouk Chey.
The defense ministry of Cambodia estimates that the attacks led to the destruction of a large amount of state infrastructure and individual households, leaving the citizens in a state of fear.
Such recent acts of aggression have cast a shadow of darkness over the diplomatic talks that were meant to restore peace in the region.
Humanitarian Crisis on the Edge
The human price of the Cambodia-Thailand Border Conflict has become quite outrageous now as the fighting reignited on December 8.
They say that at least 96 individuals have been killed in this very month, and almost one million individuals have been displaced.
The evacuation has caused a huge humanitarian disaster as families are spending their time in temporary shelters, not knowing when they will be back in their villages.
The Cambodian authorities labeled the recent bombing of the civilian population as incredibly inhumane and pointed out that the violence is purposefully targeting the people who are not involved in the military conflict.
Diplomatic Efforts Face a Steep Climb
As the bombs dropped, defense officials on both sides were struggling to locate a breakthrough in bilateral negotiations. Though it did not yield a significant truce during the initial meetings on Wednesday, there is some ray of hope as talks go on this Friday.
The two countries are also pressured to settle the Cambodia-Thailand Border Conflict by means of a bilateral committee.
According to the Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, these two countries should ensure they keep their words to defuse hostility and refrain from fueling further confrontations, even though his own defense minister is preparing to attend the talks on Saturday.
International Calls for a Peaceful Resolution
The border is becoming a subject of increased apprehension in the world. Both the United States and Russia have called for a diplomatic solution to ensure that the situation does not run further out of control.
Recently, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the Cambodian Prime Minister once again, affirming his wish to see peace and full enforcement of the past accords.
Since the Cambodian-Thailand Border Conflict is a result of a dispute over decades-old colonial-era maps and ruins of ancient temples, international intermediaries are confident that only a long-term dedication to the process of dialogue could stop further attacks of a ruthless character and eventually enable one million uprooted people to resume their lives.
