Thailand warned its conflict with neighbouring Cambodia could “potentially develop into a war” as troops used rockets and artillery to shell targets along their contested border for a second day.Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters Friday that the severity of the clashes was escalating, endangering civilians, and Thailand was committed to defending its territory and sovereignty. “This situation could potentially develop into a war,” Phumtham said. “At present, it is still considered an armed clash involving heavy weaponry.”Cambodian PM Hun Manet said his country was ready for a ceasefire but accused Bangkok of backing out of a deal brokered by Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, as the current chair of regional group Asean. The truce had been set for early Friday, he said.A long-running border dispute between the two neighbours erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border Friday, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian – a 70-year-old man – had been killed and five more wounded. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities – 14 civilians and a soldier – with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the conflict and on Friday ratcheted up the rhetoric, with Thailand accusing Cambodia of deliberately targeting civilians and Cambodia alleging Thailand was using cluster munitions, a controversial and widely condemned ordnance. While the US, China, and Malaysia have reached out to both parties, no country has publicly emerged yet as a mediator. Officials in Bangkok are intent on resolving the hostilities bilaterally, foreign ministry officials said Friday. “We do appreciate their kind offers and do not rule them all out,” Russ Jalichandra, vice minister for foreign affairs, told Bloomberg News, adding that China, US and Malaysia had offered to help.
