3 Thai soldiers injured in landmine blast at Cambodia border amid fragile ceasefire

Three Thai soldiers from Infantry Company 111 were injured by a landmine while patrolling the border with Cambodia, the Thai army said in a statement on Saturday.

The incident occurred around 10 AM (8:30 AM IST) in the Don Ao-Krissana border area (between Thailand's Sisaket and Cambodia's Preah Vihear provinces) the Second Army Region’s Operations Centre said, as per a Bangkok Post report. It added that one of the injured soldiers even lost a foot.

ALSO READ | Thailand-Cambodia conflict: Why did Bangkok backtrack after rejecting Malaysian ceasefire talks?

"Sergeant Major First Class Thana (Pana) sustained a severed lower left leg at the ankle. Private Pakpoom Chaisura sustained injuries to his arm and back, while Private Thananchai Kraiwong sustained a concussion and ruptured an eardrum because of the blast," the report said.

This is the third time over the past few weeks that Thai soldiers have been injured due to landmine-related incidents along the border. 

The incident comes days after the two nations agreed to a detailed 13-point ceasefire, following a violent five-day conflict from July 24-28 over the Preah Vihar temple, which killed 30 people and displaced more than 300,000 people across the border.

ALSO READ | 'Reminds me of India-Pakistan conflict': US President Donald Trump seeks to broker Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire using trade

It was also agreed that observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would inspect disputed border areas to ensure hostilities did not resume.

With two previous mine blasts on July 16 and July 23 being an important reason behind the downgrade of diplomatic relations that led to five days of violent clashes, the latest blast strains the fragile state of the ceasefire terms between the two nations.

Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai expressed sympathy for the wounded, and said that details of the incident were being documented and sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to be raised under the Ottawa Convention, highlighting the continued presence of landmines in the area.

ALSO READ | Preah Vihear Temple row EXPLAINED: The Hindu Shiva temple at the heart of Thailand-Cambodia border dispute

Bangkok also accused Cambodia of planting landmines on the Thai side of the disputed border that led to the earlier blasts.

Phnom Penh has denied these allegations, arguing that the Thai soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered old landmines left from its decades of war.

World