More than 100,000 Cambodians have been evacuated from border areas with Thailand since the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia resumed clashes, Cambodia's Defense Ministry announced yesterday. According to the ministry's spokesperson, Mally Sotthy, tens of thousands of people have been directed to shelters in five provinces. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Thailand's Defense Ministry, Surasak Kong-sak, stated at a press conference: 'Over 400,000 people have been moved to shelters,' following an initial government figure of 180,000 evacuees. He added: 'Civilians had to be evacuated en masse due to what we perceived as an imminent threat to their safety.' Both sides are trading blame over the resumption of clashes last Sunday, less than two months after a ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. Thailand and Cambodia have long disputed the demarcation of parts of their 800-kilometer border, a legacy of the French colonial era. The violence flared up about six weeks after Thailand and Cambodia signed a truce, with reports of fierce fighting along the border. Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen had vowed to fight a fierce war against Thailand after widespread fighting between the two countries forced tens of thousands of residents to flee the border regions.
