A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia is showing no signs of stopping after a ceasefire brokered by President Trump appears to have collapsed over the weekend. Cambodia says several of its citizens were killed in the most recent attacks from Thailand overnight. Thailand says those air assaults were in response to earlier strikes that killed a soldier and wounded several others. Michael Sullivan reports from Thailand.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Each side blames the other for starting this round of fighting, just as they did back in July, when more than 40 people were killed on both sides, with hundreds of thousands forced from their homes. And the renewed fighting is now spreading to other areas along the disputed border.
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WINTHAI SUVAREE: (Speaking Thai).
SULLIVAN: Army spokesman Major General Winthai Suvaree said Thai intelligence had detected a buildup of Cambodian troops and weaponry before the clashes began and had taken steps to defend Thailand from Cambodian aggression. And the military says it's now working to expel Cambodian troops from Thai territory, including what it called a new incursion in the coastal province of Trat, popular with tourists. The U.S., U.N. and neighboring Malaysia have all urged the two sides to step back from the conflict and honor the terms of the ceasefire, but neither side appears to be in the mood to negotiate.
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PRIME MINISTER ANUTIN CHARNVIRAKUL: (Speaking Thai).
SULLIVAN: Thailand's prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, in a televised address said that Thailand did not want conflict, but said the time for negotiation is over - for now at least - unless Cambodia agrees to Thailand's terms. He did not elaborate. But Cambodia remains defiant. Former Prime Minister Hun Sen, now president of the Senate but still widely considered to be in charge, said on social media today that after initially refraining, Cambodia's forces are now retaliating. The border dispute has been simmering for decades and is centered on a map drawn by France when it was the colonial power in Cambodia - a map of Thailand claims is inaccurate. In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded sovereignty to Cambodia over an area along the border that includes a famous temple claimed by both sides. Clashes between the two have been occurring on and off ever since.
For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
(SOUNDBITE OF PATRICK O'HEARN'S "BEYOND THIS MOMENT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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