Death toll rises in Thai-Cambodian clashes despite ceasefire call

Thailand and Cambodia clash for a third day, as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rises to 33 and Phnom Penh calls for an “immediate ceasefire.”

A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday.

Cambodia’s defense ministry says 13 people are now confirmed killed in the fighting, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded.

In Thailand, the army says five soldiers were killed on Friday, taking the toll there to 20 — 14 civilians and six military.

The death toll across the two countries is now higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.

Both sides reported a clash around 5 a.m today (2200 Friday GMT), with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing “five hea.vy artillery shells” into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand’s Trat province.