Thai forces razed Cambodian homes on border

Thai forces demolished Cambodian homes in contested border areas after a ceasefire ended clashes between the neighbours, a local rights group said yesterday.

Rights group LICADHO yesterday said a “significant number of homes and structures” in Thai-controlled areas of two villages in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province “have been razed and cleared by Thai forces” following the December 27 truce.

“The destruction of civilian homes during a conflict goes against the Geneva Conventions and international human rights law, regardless of which side of the contested border the houses stand,” LICADHO said in a statement.

The demolitions had occurred in disputed areas claimed by both countries, the organisation said.

A decades-old border dispute between the Southeast Asian nations erupted into military clashes several times last year.