UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 (APP): The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to hold an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the ongoing border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.
The meeting, which will be held behind closed doors, was requested by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, diplomats said.
A long-running border dispute between the two nations erupted into intense fighting on Thursday, with violence flaring near two temples on the border between Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.
Both countries blame the other for triggering the latest clashes.
While Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand, the Thai military scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border.
The dispute dates to 1953 when France first mapped the border, but tensions resurfaced in May after the death of a Cambodian soldier in a border skirmish.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “following with concern” reports of the clashes, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.
“The Secretary-General urges both sides to exercise maximum restraint and address any issues through dialogue and in a spirit of good neighbourliness, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the dispute,” he said.