AFTER a brief clash at Chong An Mah, Ubon Ratchathani province, yesterday (Sep. 27), the Second Army Region said this afternoon that Cambodian military activity continues along the border with two drones flown over this mountainous pass and one over Phu Makhea hill in Sisaket province, TV Channel 7 and PPTVHD 36 said.
Both countries’ forces are currently deployed at their respective positions while the Thai side has deployed additional personnel at checkpoints to monitor Khmer forces and prepare a response.
The army operations centre in Surin province has been helping Dan Subdistrict Administrative Organisation, local government agencies, community leaders, volunteers and the abbot of Wat Srirattanaram in taking care of the people who were evacuated from the border zone after the clash erupted yesterday.
Meanwhile food shops at villages along the border in Ban Kruat district, Buriram province, have gradually shut down as they fear for their safety after Cambodian troops brought heavy weapons to their positions along the border and continued provocative gunfire in Surin, Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
Some of the owners have stacked up various materials such as old tyres, logs, basins and fertiliser bags filled with soil and turned their shops into bunkers to hide in should fighting break out again.
Mr. Saming said his family both taps rubber and runs a food shop but after fighting broke out in July they had to shut down because if they invested in buying food to cook and sell should fighting erupt again it would just spoil and lead to a loss. While they still continued tapping rubber, this too had to stop after provocative gunfire by Cambodians over the past two to three days, with the military banning them from entering the dangerous area.
They now had to fish or take up other jobs to make ends meet and Saming urged the government to quickly ensure villagers could start living normally again soon.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Thai military announcement today and a spy drone flying high. Photo – PPTVHD 5
Insert: Saming filling fertiliser bags with soil to stack up at his shut down food shop. Photo – TV Channel 7
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