Cambodian forces “fired a single 40 mm grenade round” near a Thai patrol in the border province of Sisaket on Tuesday morning, prompting return fire, according to a Thai army statement.
No Thai personnel were injured, the army said.
“Following the incident, Thai forces responded by firing an M79 (grenade launcher) in the direction from which the shot originated, in accordance with the rules of engagement, as a warning and for self-defence,” it added.
Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in the statement that “Cambodia’s actions violated the ceasefire agreement”, which ended three weeks of deadly border clashes in late December.
“Preliminary assessment suggests the incident may have resulted from a rotation of Cambodian troops, with new personnel lacking familiarity with regulations and command control, leading to operational shortcomings,” the statement said.
Cambodia’s defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata declined to answer questions from AFP about the alleged incident.
The countries’ century-old border conflict stems from a dispute over the French colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier.
The dispute erupted into several rounds of clashes last year, killing dozens of people, including soldiers and civilians, and displacing more than a million in July and December.
Meanwhile, Cambodia rejected allegations that its military fired on Thai troops patrolling their border, Phnom Penh’s information minister told AFP on Tuesday.
“These claims are entirely false, fabricated and grossly distort the facts with the deliberate intent to mislead public opinion and provoke tension along the Cambodia–Thailand border,” Neth Pheaktra said.
Thailand’s army said Cambodian forces “fired a single 40 mm grenade round” near a Thai patrol in the border province of Sisaket on Tuesday morning, prompting return fire, according to a statement.
Neth Pheaktra, however, reiterated Cambodia’s “unwavering commitment” to the December truce and an earlier short-lived ceasefire deal from October.
“Cambodia is deeply concerned that unilateral allegations made without joint verification, consultation or factual substantiation risk misrepresenting the situation on the ground and undermining mutual trust,” the minister said.
The Thai army said the “incident may have resulted from a rotation of Cambodian troops, with new personnel lacking familiarity with regulations and command control”, citing a preliminary assessment.
Last month, Thailand also accused Cambodia of violating their truce, saying cross-border mortar fire wounded a soldier, while Phnom Penh said a “pile of garbage” exploded, injuring two of its own troops.