Thailand-Cambodia border: Thailand warns clashes could ‘move towards war’

Jang Sawitree
Reporting for BBC near Surin province

Image source, BBC/Lulu Luo

At a sports complex which has been converted into an evacuation centre in Thailand’s Surin province, evacuees – many of them children and elderly – said they were still shaken by the rocket and artillery attacks they witnessed on Thursday.

Panic broke out when the firing started and evacuation trucks quickly filled up, said Joi Phasuwan, from the Phanom Dong Rak district.

The 63-year-old, along with her two grandchildren, “waited a long time” before they finally got moved to the evacuation centre. They moved farther this time compared to past evacuations, Joi says.

She plans to send the children to their parents in Bangkok if the situation does not de-escalate, she says.

Nuansri Sorchoke, also 63, said this is her third experience with border clashes.

The first was when she was 19. At the time, she says she joined the fight armed with only a sickle. The second was in 2011, when she had to flee, just like she did this time.

Her husband however did not manage to evacuate, and had to hide in a bunker overnight as both sides exchanged fire, she says.