The Indian Embassy in Cambodia on Saturday issued an advisory urging Indian nationals to avoid travel to border areas amid escalating armed violence with Thailand. The advisory follows a sharp intensification of clashes in long-disputed regions, where simmering tensions over the past few months now risk spiralling into a full-blown war.
“In view of the ongoing clashes at the Cambodia-Thailand border, Indian nationals are advised to avoid traveling to the border areas,” the advisory read, also urging Indian nationals to approach the Embassy in case of an emergency.
On Friday, the Indian Embassy in Thailand also advised against travel to more than 20 locations across its several provinces, including Ubon Ratchathani, Surin, Sisaket, Buriram, Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi, and Trat.
Fighting between the South Asian neighbours entered its third consecutive day on Saturday, with new flashpoints emerging as both sides sought diplomatic backing, each claiming self-defence and urging the other to cease hostilities and begin negotiations. At least 31 people have been killed and more than 130,000 displaced in what is now the most intense fighting between the countries in 13 years.
The Thai navy reported fresh clashes early Saturday in the coastal province of Trat, marking a new front more than 100 kilometres from the main areas of conflict along the disputed border.
Tensions have recently escalated since the fatal shooting of a Cambodian soldier during a brief skirmish in late May. Both sides have since reinforced their troops, fuelling a full-blown diplomatic crisis that has pushed Thailand’s already fragile coalition government to the verge of collapse.
As of Saturday, Thailand’s death toll remained at 19 while the casualties in Cambodia rose to 13.
Thailand and Cambodia have long been at odds over jurisdictional claims along several undemarcated sections of their 817-km (508-mile) shared land border, with disputes centring particularly on the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th-century Preah Vihear.
Although the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear to Cambodia in 1962, tensions reignited in 2008 when Cambodia sought to designate the site as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This move triggered years of intermittent skirmishes, resulting in at least a dozen deaths.
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