Three Thai soldiers have been injured by a landmine while patrolling the border with Cambodia, according to the army, days after the two neighbours agreed to a detailed ceasefire following a violent five-day conflict last month.
One soldier lost a foot and two others were injured after one of them stepped on a landmine as they patrolled an area between Thailand’s Sisaket and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear provinces on Saturday morning, the Royal Thai Armed Forces said.
One soldier suffered a severe leg injury, another was wounded in the back and arm, and the third had extreme pressure damage to the ear, the military said.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said that it “has yet to receive clear confirmation from Cambodian frontline forces concerning the explosion,” adding that its army has been strictly respecting the spirit of the ceasefire.
Thailand said the incident took place within its territory in an area recently cleared of landmines. It would lodge a complaint against Cambodia for violating a treaty that bans the use of landmines and for infringing Thai sovereignty, the Thai foreign ministry said in a statement.
Both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Ottawa Convention against landmines.
It is the third incident in a few weeks in which Thai soldiers have been injured by mines while patrolling along the border.
Two previous similar incidents led to the downgrading of diplomatic relations and triggered five days of fighting.
The Southeast Asian neighbours were engaged in deadly border clashes from July 24-28, in the worst fighting between the two in more than a decade.
The exchanges of artillery fire, infantry battles and jet fighter sorties killed at least 43 people.
The clashes halted with a ceasefire on July 28 after United States President Donald Trump warned both sides that he would not conclude trade deals with them if fighting continued.
A meeting of defence officials in Kuala Lumpur ended on Thursday with a deal to extend the ceasefire, and the two sides also agreed to allow observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to inspect disputed border areas to ensure hostilities do not resume.
Bangkok accused Cambodia of planting landmines on the Thai side of the disputed border that injured soldiers on July 16 and July 23. Phnom Penh denied it had placed any new mines and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered old landmines left from its decades of war.
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