'No ceasefire': Thailand PM rejects calls for peace as Cambodia firing kills civilian

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday that there are no plans for a ceasefire after the country reported its first civilian death in the border clashes with Cambodia. Anutin’s remarks came as a shock to many since they came after his phone call with US President Donald Trump.

During the call, the American leader pledged to both sides to restart the ceasefire that they agreed upon earlier this year. However, the Thai PM changed his stance on the matter after the first civilian death was reported. “There was no plan nor agreement by the Thai government for a ceasefire with our enemy as at 10 pm last night,” Anutin said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Dec 14), after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged the two sides to stop fighting by that time.

“Thailand stands firm with our determination to preserve, protect and defend the integrity of our land and our people at all costs,” Anutin said. The comments came shortly after the Thai army confirmed that a villager was killed by a BM-21 rocket launched by Cambodia into a civilian area in the Kantaralak district in Si Sa Ket province, Bloomberg reported.

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It is pertinent to note that the 63-year-old was the first Thai civilian to die directly because of Cambodian attacks. Nine others before him perished due to existing medical conditions since the conflict restarted last week.

In light of this, the Thai foreign ministry lodged a protest with the United Nations on Sunday. The Thai authorities accused Cambodia of launching indiscriminate attacks, including on non-military targets. A Thai soldier was also killed by Cambodian shelling in the same district, bringing total fatalities on the Thai side to 16 soldiers, with 327 others wounded.

Meanwhile, Cambodia has yet to disclose its military casualties. Amid the chaos, the Thai Navy has imposed a curfew from Sunday in five districts in the southeastern coastal Trat province, bordering Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. The army previously imposed a curfew in some areas in the northeastern Sa Kaeo province.

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Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet on Sunday hailed what he described as the strength and unity of his country. He called on his citizens to support their “heroic army” in its mission to “protect the sovereignty and dignity of Cambodia’s territory”. The Cambodian government also accused Thailand of deploying a fighter jet to drop a bomb in one area.