Thai army refutes Cambodian accusation that it bombed civilian targets

The Thai army accused Cambodia today of falsely alleging that Thailand shelled civilian targets in Cambodia during the battle between Thai and Cambodian forces between July 24thand 28th.

Thai Army Spokesman Maj-Gen Winthai Suvaree said the Cambodian military spokesperson, Lt-Gen Maly Socheata, made the false accusation while leading a group of military attachés from eight countries on an inspection tour of a village in Oddar Meanchey province, which Cambodia claims was shelled by Thai forces.

Lt-Gen Maly claimed that a number of houses, schools and health offices sustained damage in the “indiscriminate” shelling.

Winthai explained, however, that Thai forces had avoided attacking civilian targets, in strict compliance with international law, unlike Cambodian forces, which, he alleged, have no respect for civilian lives.

He claimed that Cambodian artillery and rockets had landed in more than 100 locations in Thailand’s northeastern provinces, some of which struck about 30km from the common border between the two countries, adding that, while most of them detonated, some did not.

According to the Thai Second Region Army, more than 500 pieces of ordnance, fired by Cambodian forces into non-military areas in Surin, Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani provinces have had to be destroyed or defused by Thai explosive ordnance disposal units.

14 Thai civilians and 15 soldiers were killed, and several others were injured, during the five-day battle, which involved the exchange of artillery fire, rocket attacks and air strikes by the Royal Thai Air Force’s F-16 and Gripen fighter jets.