00:00Airstrikes and escalation
00:17Thailand has launched airstrikes against Cambodian military positions
00:22after a sharp escalation in border fighting.
00:25Thai F-16 fighter jets have been documented striking targets around Samarang city,
00:32with multiple sorties reported over the last two days
00:35as Bangkok responds to intense clashes along the disputed frontier.
00:40A Thai military spokesman says the operations were ordered
00:45after a Thai soldier was killed in heavy gunfire exchanges,
00:49calling the airstrikes a defensive measure
00:52to suppress Cambodian fire along the border.
00:56On the ground, the fighting has been fierce and prolonged.
01:00Artillery duels have rumbled for hours,
01:03while Thai Air Force jets continue to target Cambodian positions
01:07dug in close to the borderline.
01:10Both sides accuse each other of starting the latest round of hostilities,
01:15but the impact is now being felt far beyond the immediate front lines.
01:20Civilian toll on both sides
01:23Cambodia reports that at least four civilians have been killed
01:27by gunfire and shelling in Priyavihare and Odarmanship provinces
01:32as the cross-border fire intensifies.
01:35Villages close to military positions have come under repeated attack,
01:40forcing families to abandon homes with little more than the clothes they can carry.
01:45Cambodia's Information Ministry says multiple frontier communities have been cleared
01:51amid fears that the air and artillery campaign will widen.
01:56On the Thai side, residents of Si Saquet and Uban Ratchathani provinces
02:01are also hearing the sound of explosions and aircraft overhead.
02:06Local authorities report active fighting near several border districts,
02:11urging people to move away from impact zones and avoid farmland close to the frontier.
02:18For many villagers, the sudden shift from uneasy peace to open clashes
02:23has revived memories of past skirmishes around the same contested areas.
02:29Mass evacuations and humanitarian strain
02:33Thailand's Defence Ministry says more than 45,000 people have now been evacuated from danger zones
02:41along the border into designated shelters.
02:44Schools, temples and sports halls have been converted into temporary camps
02:50as officials rush to provide food, water and medical supplies for the displaced.
02:55Authorities believe the true number of people who have fled is even higher,
03:00with thousands more moving inland to stay with relatives rather than register in official centres.
03:07Across the border, Cambodian officials confirm that entire villages near the front line have emptied out.
03:14Farmers have left their fields unharvested, worried that returning could mean walking into stray shells or renewed airstrikes.
03:22Evacuated families on both sides now face deep uncertainty, unsure when or if it will be safe to go home,
03:31even as they hear new bursts of gunfire echoing from the direction of the frontier each night.
03:38Fears of wider conflict
03:40Cross-border hostilities are raising serious concerns over regional stability.
03:45Military analysts warn that the combination of air strikes, heavy artillery and entrenched positions dramatically increases the risk of miscalculation,
03:57especially if either side suffers higher casualties or damage to major population centres.
04:04If the current trajectory continues, they caution what is now a localized border conflict could expand into a wider confrontation that draws in outside mediators,
04:16or even neighbouring states trying to protect their own interests.
04:21For now, both governments publicly blame each other for triggering the latest clashes, while insisting they do not want war.
04:30But with jets in the air, artillery on standby, and tens of thousands already displaced,
04:36the question is no longer whether tensions are high.
04:40It is how quickly leaders in Bangkok and Phnom Penh can pull their forces back from the brink
04:46before the next salvo turns this dangerous standoff into a full-blown conflict.
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