Residents seek refuge as fighting drags to 2nd day

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge on Friday as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second day, heightening fears of a broader conflict.

Fighting erupted again before dawn on Friday, with clashes reported in 12 locations, up from six on Thursday, according to Thailand's military.

Thailand's Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 people have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 4,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border. Around 600 people took shelter at a gymnasium in a university in Surin Province, Thailand.

The fighting has killed at least 14 people in Thailand. Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey Deputy Governor, Met Meas Pheakdey, told Xinhua that one villager was killed.

Cambodian Defense Ministry's Undersecretary of State, Maly Socheata, said in a news briefing on Friday morning that Thai troops had used heavy weapons and F-16 fighter jets as well as cluster bombs to attack several locations in the Cambodian provinces of Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear.

The conflict has escalated, with the confrontation involving heavy weapons, Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai said on Friday. "The situation has intensified and could escalate into a state of war," he said.

Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into clashes after a landmine explosion along the border that wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday.

Agencies—Xinhua