PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The United Nations (UN) urged Cambodia and Thailand to exercise maximum restraint after their long border disagreement erupted into a bloody battle on Thursday morning.
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency closed-door meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing conflict between the two neighbours.
The council is yet to issue any statement on the outcome of the highly anticipated meeting.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a July 24 statement, called on both warring parties to pursue peaceful dialogue to the long-running dispute, according to the UN website.
“Exercise maximum restraint and address any issues through dialogue and in a spirit of good neighbourliness, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the dispute,” said Guterres.
Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to the UN Security Council on Thursday, seeking the global body’s support to resolve the conflict that flared up between Cambodian and Thai soldiers along the Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear areas, after weeks of simmering tensions.
According to the website, the Security Council held an urgent private meeting under the “Threats to international peace and security” on Friday to discuss the Cambodia-Thailand border issues.
Both countries have been engaged in a decades-long hostile dispute over the sovereignty of the 817-kilometre non-demarcated areas along their borders, where several ancient temples are also located.
At Friday’s meeting, several council members acknowledged ASEAN’s role in facilitating a dialogue to resolve the crisis, according to the UN website.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, also the current ASEAN Chair, presented a ceasefire proposal to both governments. – Vijian Paramasivam/BERNAMA
